The Demon Vessel From the Heavens
by Damn.He.FLy
Summary: Naruto was born a slave, raised a slave and worked like a slave, but his dreams were outside of the tower. He wants to see the outside world for the first time, especially with the people who he had come to befriend, but when freedom comes with a cost, will he be able to enjoy his freedom? The story of how a boy fights his misfortune to become the strongest mage of Fiore. AUNaruto.
1. All Ends With Beginnings: Pt 1

Hey. Tossing this idea out there. If you've read my BleachXFairyTail ( s/9032981/1/What-Weapons-Are-For -not a shameless self-promo) crossover, you'd be thinking:

"what's this copy-n-paste bullshit!111!1"

Well, it's different, because Ichigo and Naruto are practically North and South. I originally planned on doing a NarutoXFairyTail one, but I didn't have enough knowledge about _the arts of ninjutsu_ since I only read the manga. I read Rock Lee and the Springtime of Youth, too (it's funny,okay?)

Warning: Wiki's were abused in the making of the story (mostly to find out the Romanization because English sounds stupid)

* * *

Disclaimer: Not my characters...

* * *

"Hey, you! Everyone else is returning to their cells! What the hell are you still clearing the rubble for?" The guard shouted at him from a distance. The young blonde boy dropped his pickaxe and gave his sweaty forehead a much-needed wipe with the back of his hand.

Turning and giving the guards his usual bright smile, he shouted his reply. "Got it! Let me just do one more shift and I will make my way back!"

The guards burst into a small laughter, probably laughing at his declaration. "What kind of slave does an extra shift?"

The guards shared a laugh at him before the guards left the mining site, leaving the boy to clear the rubble on his own. As the young boy picked up his pickaxe, he surveyed the area, making sure that he was in the clear. "Alright! Time to get serious!"

Forming a stance, he concentrated on gathering the vast amount of magic coursing through his body into the pit of his stomach. With a gusto, he yelled, "**Kage Bushin**!"

Puffs of smoke filled the area and as they cleared, they revealed replicas of Naruto himself. Unlike thought projections, these "shadow clones" of his were a physical form of himself. Normal wizards were unable to summon "shadow clones", but due to the crazy amount of magic Naruto was born with, it was not much of a feat. "Alright, listen up guys! Spread and search for any suitable pieces of metal!"

"Aye!" With that, the tens of clones spread in every direction, scavenging any piece of metal they deemed suitable. With this many Narutos in action, not a stone was left unturned. The Naruto with the pickaxe mined away the rubble, while the bare-handed tossed and turn every piece of concrete and wrangled metal. They had to be quick, or risk getting spotted and reported by the next shift's slaves and guards.

"Found it!" A Naruto came running back to the pickaxe one excitedly, in his hand a small shard of metal the size of his palm. After retrieving and examining the metal for seconds, Naruto placed the metal in a hidden compartment sewed on his rags, patting the clone on his shoulder.

"Great job! Now dismiss!" With a puff of smoke each, the Narutos poofed into nothing bu thin air, and the site was quiet once again. Involuntarily, he sighed. His situation was depressing to say the least. Being a born as a slave was sure to get most people down, but Naruto knew that he wasn't like "most people". He was special, born with a huge amount of magic that was considered monstrous, and he was going to use this distinct trait to help everyone. "Today, I'll change everything!"

With that, he raised his pickaxe and swung against the rock. He'll have another shift to think about his freedom.

-3-

The cell door opened, and Naruto was kicked in the cell for no reason. He fell forwards, scraping his knees for the thousandth time this lifetime. "I was going to enter anyways," he muttered.

As he got back up, he made his way to the group of cellmates hanging around the wall opposite of the metal bars, the people who he was planning this escape with. The one coming up with all the plans was the silver-haired man, whose face he has yet to seen before. Keeping his face behind the same book he has read for years, Kakashi-sensei raised his eyebrow just above the book when he noticed Naruto's presence. "Did you find any metal pieces, Naruto?"

Naruto discreetly slipped the metal pieces to his sensei, and the man took it with the same level of discreet. The metal piece was then used to sharpen another piece of metal, in the case of Kakashi-sensei's method, with one hand behind his back. His other hand was keeping his book up, continuing to hide his face. Up till now, Naruto had yet to figure out how the man does it.

"How was working two shifts, loser?" A vein popped on his forehead as he glared back at the smirking raven-haired bastard.

"I didn't see the _great Sasuke_ doing anything to help, lazy ass."

"I am a fire mage, not some freak who splits into a hundred people."

"Hey! It's not freaky-" He's words were cut off when the pink-haired girl covered his mouth. As much as Naruto wanted to force his retort, he knew that arguing with Sasuke was only putting their plan at risk, and Sakura knows that as well.

"Quiet, Naruto. Kakashi-sensei is about to explain his plan." Despite feeling indignant that only he was scolded, the boy kept mum.

"Thank you, Sakura." Kakashi-sensei revealed the sharpened metal behind. The metal was so sharp that Kakashi-sensei could use it to scratch the rock-hard dirt floor they were on. On the ground, he drew a blueprint of the tower's structure from the top. A simple circle with certain staircases, the only thing to take note of. A cross was drawn near the circumstance of the circle, and Naruto recognized it as their current location. "This is where we are right now. As you can see, breaking through the wall behind me will cause us to fall to our deaths, while breaking through the metal bars will only lead us deeper into the tower, and we would have a high chance of being killed by the guards."

"Therefore..." Kakashi-sensei picked up his sharpened metal again, this time drawing a cross-section of the tower, which is basically an upright rectangle divided into levels. He drew a cross at their location once more, which was at the middle of the tower, and surprisingly, drew an arrow downwards. "The only way we can escape is by going down."

"How?" Naruto couldn't help but ask. Kakashi might have smirked, but Naruto couldn't tell with the book in the way.

"The part of this floor I have been sitting on was constantly watered with one third of my drinking water everyday. This floor is a combination of concrete, sand and mud, and does not hold very well. Sakura will focus her magic to her arm like I taught her. She hasn't tested it yet but it should work." Kakashi's gaze shifted to the two boys.

"And that's where you two come in. Sakura will be on cooldown for a while, so it's up to you two to take down the guards. Sasuke has basic fire magic training before he came here, but you are unskilled, Naruto. Use your numbers and your head to your advantage-"

"It won't work." Sasuke cut in, his head furrowed into a frown. "If this was your plan, it won't work. There's too many guards and too little time. Besides, below us is the guards' quarters and below that is an armory."

"If this was it, I would have initiated it a long time ago. The important part of the plan is from those kids over there." He motioned his eyes to the group of his kids the same age as the three of them, about twelve years old. "They tried to escape but got captured. They are are missing their leader, the blue-haired boy, and the red-haired girl's emotional state is at her limit. Her magic is flowing so immensely she could take down most of the guards in this tower."

As Naruto was about to question the reason for a different plan, Kakashi gave his reason, cutting him off.

"But she will make a mistake. She's going back for her friend, and she's going to get herself and all her friends killed. While she's doing that, the guards will have to stop her, leaving the quarters relatively empty. It's all about timing for the armory. Just wait for my signal and initiate the plan. Good luck, kids."

"What about saving the other kids?"

Kakashi and Sakura gave Naruto a look which only expressed guilt, more for the latter, while Sasuke only seemed annoyed. "We aren't going to save them?"

"No. If there is no more stupid questions, I'll 'light the fuse'. Do I have permission, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Go ahead, Sasuke." Sasuke gave Kakashi-sensei a nod before getting up. Naruto was left to stare at his fellow cellmates as Sasuke left to complete his assigned task. Even Sakura, who was one of the kindest person he knew, had strayed so much from her principles. A sorry look was all he got, and despite feeling no less better seeing Sakura's sorry face, Naruto could only swallow his principles.

The desire for freedom changed him, just like everyone else.

"What are you doing?!" The shout shifted his focus to the group of kids, where Sasuke was also at, in his hand a measly piece of bread. The tanned kid with blonde hair stood up, looking crossly at Sasuke. "That was for Erza! Can't you see her eye is injured? She needs to eat!"

The guards only glanced at the commotion, not willing to go out of their way to stop a measly fight between children. As it came naturally to Sasuke, the boy managed to give a villainous smirk to the group of kids. "You don't deserve it. The weak should just make way for the strong, or are you going to run to your leader again. Oh, that's right, he's taken away, and now the remaining five of you are just losers."

"Take that back!"

"Make me."

The blonde boy charged towards Sasuke, but all it took was for Sasuke to side-step and stick his leg out to trip the blonde boy, allowing him to fall to the ground. Taking it a step further, Sasuke kept kicking the boy while putting on an irksome smirk. To add salt to the wound, Sasuke eat the stale bread in a mouth as he kicked, while the group watched. Naruto could have never done that, and he didn't know whether it was a good thing or bad thing.

"NO!" The red-haired girl screamed, and as her voice reverberated around the room, all the pickaxes and shovels scattered on the ground trembled, and even the guards' spears and sheathed swords were shaking. "W-We...are not weak!"

All the weaponry were suspended, and the shovels and pickaxes went through the spaces between the bars to attack the guards outside. There was no one to slash, only strikes to defend from, but even then they were no match for these invisible weapons. One by one, the guards were knocked out. For a moment, the slaves in the cell had faces filled with horror, but soon they realized that this was the perfect chance to escape. A pickaxe swung with tremendous force against the lock, effectively freeing the door.

The red-haired girl stood up, her eyes filled with what Naurto could only describe as 'empowered'. "Sho, let's go. We're getting out of here."

"But that guy-"

"We have no time! The guards...they might come at any second!" The girl opened the unlocked door and motioned for everyone to evacuate, which was complied. As they left, they took the pickaxes and shovels laid on the ground, and as the guards frantically try to keep the slaves in, the slaves fought hard for a way out.

Shame filled Naruto to the brim, as he looked at the red-haired girl. She was doing what he had promised to do, ignoring any risk of danger. The only thing he could thing he could take comfort in was his new promise to come back for the remaining people, but it may already be too late then. 'You can't alter your own circumstances, but you can make your own decisions,' they said.

"Sakura, ready?" Kakashi-sensei's voice brought him back to Earth. The pink-haired girl nodded, scrutinizing the concrete floor that Kakashi-sensei has sat on all this time. Channeling her magic to her right fist, she pummeled the fist with all her might, and as expected, the ground formed cracks and crumbled. Behind the dust was a room, equipped with cupboards of coffee powder and bread that was not stale. Something more uplifting was that there was not a single guard.

"Hey, free food!" Naruto leapt down and looked around him. Bread, not the stale kind, but those that still had a fragrance. There was some other fragrance in the air, something that made Naruto's salivary glands lose control. It came from a bowl, and inside was soup and noodles, but together they form something out of this world. "W-What is this, Kakashi-sensei?"

"It's ramen. But we don't have enough time for you to eat it. I'll buy you one when we are free." While Kakashi-sensei was talking, Naruto had already poured its contents into his mouth, and it was glorious. "Nevermind. Sakura, are you ready for another punch?"

"This one isn't watered, so I'm not sure whether I could punch a hole..."

"It's not made to prevent digging, so it's pretty thin. I'm sure you can do it." Sakura nodded, once again revving up her monstrous arm. As it crashed down against the tiles, they flew into pieces, and another hole was formed. Unfortunately, there were soldiers still taking weapons from the racks, an estimated ten people.

"Hey, you four, stop right there!"

Kakashi-sensei heeded not a single word, pouncing down on one of the guards, stabbing his sharpened rock into the man's forehead. Just about every slave was used to gore, but thought of killing was abstract to Naruto. Comparitively, Sasuke's bloodlust was written on his face, and the raven-head was ready to slaughter any guard he saw. As he leapt into the hole, Sasuke shot a fireball out of his mouth, setting several guards on fire.

Naruto did not want to lose out to Sasuke, but he certainly was not going to kill loosely. He stood above the violence and contemplated on whether he should help too. Looking back at Sakura's slightly disturbed expression, Naruto knew he couldn't do the same. "I guess I'll just knock them out."

Gathering the magic within him, Naruto split into many clones, stacking himself on the two guards, effectively suffocating them. When he felt the struggling disappear, he dismissed the clones, looking down at the two guards he had just knocked out. He felt something unlike himself. He felt happy.

Sasuke walked Naruto's opponents, showing displeasure on his face. He looked down at them and spat, cupping his hand around his mouth for a fireball. Instinctively, Naruto shoved Sasuke's hands away, just in time to knock away the fireball that would have burnt the men to a crisp. "What the hell are you doing, Sasuke? They're already knocked out!"

"They deserve to die, don't they? We're just kids, and they hit us and starve us. Who knows how many of us are killed by their hands?!"

Kakashi-sensei stood in between the two of them, effectively ending the squabble. "Sasuke, enough. Just leave it as it is. Sakura, we need your help again. Just two more punches. Think you can do it?"

The sound of Sakura's name snapped her out of the shock, and she nodded before prepping up another punch. As her fist made contact with the ground, cracks formed, but there was only one problem.

There was no hole.

Naruto tapped the girl's shoulder. "Sakura, there's no hole."

"I can see that! I just...don't know why...I did it exaclty the same as last time-"

"Crap! What the hell do we do now? I can't believe we pinned our chances on this girl!" In a fit of rage, Sasuke gave the table beside him a punch, causing the table to collapse. Naruto was about to give Sasuke a piece of his mind, but was held back by Kakashi-sensei.

"I-I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun..." Sakura's eyes reflected the lighting in the room as her eyes welled up tears, but Sasuke remained unempathetic, his body language giving off nothing but frustration. It was Kakashi who stepped in, giving Sakura a pat on the shoulder.

"It's not Sakura's fault. It was a miscalculation on my part. I should've taken in account the fatigue due to this technique. New plan. The level below us is three stories high, so it's technically possible to survive a fall from here. It's a good thing we're already at the armory." Kakashi-sensei looked around the armory, inspecting the items on the shelfs and racks. Naruto took this chance to comfort Sakura, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"You know Sasuke...He's such a dick sometimes, always talking without thinking...He probably doesn't need mean it."

Sakura shot him an unhappy look. "Don't say things about Sasuke like that! Don't you always talk without thinking too?"

"But I'll never say anything bad towards you!" Naruto gave Sakura his trademark smile, and Sakura giggled like she always did when he gave a stupid grin.

"Hey, you two. Kakashi-sensei's got a plan. Gather up." Sakura, with her face relit with her usual smile, ran excitedly over to the Sasuke. Naruto gave himself a sour smile, asking himself when he was going to get his credit.

He headed to Kakashi-sensei as well, where they stood in a circle around stacks of sacks. These sacks seemed familiar, as he saw them somewhere while clearing rubble.

"We're gonna blow up the ground with these sacks of gunpowder. It's gonna be loud and attract a lot of guards, so when it blows, jump in the hole and run. It's a three-story drop so cushion your landing properly. Good luck." As usual, briefs were short and simple. Kakashi-sensei took a few steps back, pushing back Naruto and Sakura to a safe distance along with him.

Sasuke raised his fist to his mouth, aiming at the sacks of gunpowder. "**Gokakyu**!"

Claiming that explosion was big was an understatement. As the fireball made contact with the sacks of gunpowder, a huge gust of wind and dust burst towards Naruto, along with a noise so loud it stunned his hearing. There was no doubt that every corner of the tower had heard it, and Naruto could only imagine the number of guards that were alerted about their presence.

"Jump now!" Kakashi-sensei's voice broke from its usual demeanour, shocking Naruto into leaping down the hole. As he fell through the dust, he took a first look at the height, and readied to cushion himself. With a well-timed barrel roll, Naruto managed to land safely, followed by the rest of them. Unfortunately, there were already guards rushing to the ground level, footsteps drawing closer and closer. Naruto knew from the sound of the steps that there were a great amount of guards, and unlike the guards they had fought just now, these guards were armored and armed.

The three kids looked towards Kakashi-sensei, hoping he would have a plan, but even if there was a plan, there was no time to explain it. Instead, the only word Naruto could see from Kakashi-sensei's discoloured eyes were: "hide". Naruto looked around, surveying his surroundings and looking for anything that may help, and out of the corner of his eyes, he caught sight of something.

Sticking out of the ground was a metal handle. Beneath it was a trapdoor. It was all they got.

Without thinking, as there was no time to think anyways, Naruto grabbed Sakura and Sasuke, sprinting towards the trapdoor. Sasuke, who had also caught sight of the hidden trapdoor, ran ahead and pulled open the trapdoor. As Sakura had yet to recover from the shock, Naruto pulled Sakura along and into the trapdoor, and once they were both in, Sasuke hopped in as well. With a tug from both boys, they shut the trapdoor shut.

"Phew, we did it!" Naruto laughed as he panted, but he cut his laughter when he noticed Sakura still listless. "You alright, Sakura?"

"K-Kakashi-sensei..."

The realization hit him. They had forgotten about Kakashi-sensei, the one responsible for getting them this far. Once again, without a thought, Naruto was about to reopen the trapdoor and go back for Kakashi-sensei, before being held back by Sasuke. "Use your head, fool."

"But Kakashi-sensei-"

"And how would going out there help him?" As much as Naruto would like to deny it, Sasuke was right. Just to reassure himself that their mentor figure was still alive, Naruto took a peek out of the trapdoor.

The guards, clad in armor and armed with swords, surrounded Kakashi-sensei, yet they didn't engage. Both parties were at a standstill, until one guard tries to attack Kakashi-sensei. But gracefully, Kakashie-sensei parried the slash and disarmed the guards by twisting the guard's arm, stabbing the sword into the opening under the guard's helmet, and the blade when all the way through, exiting from the other side of the guard's neck. As Kakashi-sensei drew the sword out, he re-adjusted into a battle stance, not flinching one bit.

"Look, Kakashi-sensei is doing fine. Let's get a move on before we too get spotted." Sasuke was first to continue down the stairs into the dark unknown, with a slightly-traumatized Sakura tailing behind. Naruto took one last look at his mentor figure before continuing down the steps, but as he moved, he felt an extra weight in his rags. He searched the hidden compartment of his rags and found a small orange book, the same one Kakashi-sensei used to keep his face hidden. Only then did it struck him that he had forgotten to take a glimpse at Kakashi-sensei's bare face.

"Sheesh, it was as if this book was his face." Kakashi-sensei must have slipped it into his rags when he wasn't looking, as if he knew that they were going to split up at this moment. "Sasuke, you knew Kaka-sensei was going to stay behind to hold off the guards, didn't you?"

Sasuke stopped in his footsteps, but not looking back to face Naruto. "He told me that if there ever comes a time, I'd have to drag the both of you with me and leave him behind. But I only promised to do it once. Whether you want to continue on, it's up to you. Just don't be a burden."

Naruto looked at the book and back Sasuke. All of this was Kakashi's last wishes, and now that he knew that, he couldn't go against it. Placing the book back into his rags, Naruto tightened his fist. "We're getting out of here no matter what."

Sasuke wasn't facing him, but Naruto swore he saw Sasuke smirk at his statement. "Then stop whining and let's go."

Naruto walked down the stairs, catching up to the duo that were left hanging, and the trio continued walking down the stairs. With the wise words in the book that Kakashi left him along with his drive, Naruto promised never to look back.

"Today, I'll change everything."

-3-

"**Raikiri**!" A surge of lightning was summoned on the palm of Kakashi's hand, and the silver-haired man drove the electricity into the guard's armor, electrocuting the guard and several people behind him. That spell alone took a lot of magic from him, but his martial arts and sword fighting had been a good buffer.

However, he most definitely was not going to outlast a never-ending flow of armed guards.

More and more reinforcements came in, and though he took pride in the fact that a hundred soldiers and mages had been sent and killed by him alone, it eventually took a toll. He was not well-fed or well-rested to begin with, and yet he had to go through with this. "I'm getting too old for this shit."

It was once again at a standstill, and Kakashi looked carefully at his surroundings. _Only if I had the ability to look from all angles, though it would be a little freaky._

"He's getting worn out! We need to finish him, quick! The others still need reinforcements!" One guard shouted to another, and the all started to get riled up.

"Hey, guys, maybe you shouldn't focus your time on me. After all, I'm just one guy. Don't mind me, I'll wait till you guys are done."

"Don't fuck with us! We were given specific orders to capture you first!" The guard with a loose mouth spotted his mistake, and clamped up quickly, but had already gave away too many secrets.

"Specific orders? By who?"

"That would be me." The guards parted a path when they heard the voice of a girl, whose tone and demeanour suggested more of a woman. The girl had a devious grin, and Kakashi learnt from experience never to pass judgement based on age, a valuable lesson from his experiences. "I've observed you for a good amount of time now. Where is that porno novel that you always shield your face with?"

"It's called a graphical romance novel. And no, I can't lent it to you since you aren't old enough." Kakashi needed to waste as much time as possible to restore as much strength and magic he can, as he knew with the added implications of this girl, holding off the guards wasn't an option anymore.

Unfortunately, the girl would have none of that. The girl took out an orb, and with a telekinesis spell, sent it flying into Kakashi's gut at incredible speeds. It took a lot for Kakashi not to lose his brunch; a piece of stale bread. "Where is the jinchuriki?"

Kakashi grabbed the orb and smashed it against the ground. "What's that?"

The orb restructured itself and flew upwards, almost knocking into Kakashi's chin if the man had stayed put. It then flew back into the girl's hand, and recognized this as a spell, albeit a very strong one. "Don't play games with me. You can't afford to. You know the boy holds the demon, now where is he?"

"If you walk me to the harbor, maybe I'll tell you."

The orb flew out of the girl's hand and Kakashi barely dodged it, but he knew it would come back. As expected, the orb flew straight for his stomach, which would be expected as the girl needed him alive. With a roundhouse kick, Kakashi smashed the orb into pieces again.

The girl casted her spell again, restoring the orb to its original state. He knew that the girl's magic allowed her to restore an object to its previous state, but the type of magic was what he wanted to know.

Kakashi had many more exchanges with the girl and her orb, but the result was always the same. Dodging was tiring enough, and was even tougher when the girl brought our another orb, which ended up landing some blows on him. But through these exchanges, Kakashi found out that though telekinisis did not use much of her magic reserves, the restoration spell took a toll on the girl. Despite this, the girl had a large pool of magic, probably bigger than Kakashi himself. "Would you like to continue, Kakashi Hatake?"

"You shouldn't talk to your elders like that." The girl was visibly annoyed, and Kakashi knew he couldn't stall any longer. He could try running, but the gates are locked anyways and he would not make it out. The only way was to defeat the girl herself and look for keys somewhere in the building. His magic reserves were back up for the most part, and there was no other way. He had to defeat the girl.

Using surprise as a tool, Kakashi used **Moguragakure**, which turned the earth into sand and allowed Kakashi to sink into it, burrowing himself within the ground. While holding his breath, he dug right underneath the girl and sprung up, grabbing the girl's leg. As he was about to pull the girl into the ground, the earth around him turned into sand instead, creating a crater around him. A orb flew out of the girl's hand and smacked right into his right shoulder, forcing him to free the girl and tumble back. As he fell to the ground, he felt the sharp pain in his right shoulder, and there was no doubt it was broken.

Before he could get Kakashi could get back up, the girl re-equipped a sword, pointing it inches away from Kakashi's throat. "This is your last chance. Tell me where the jinchuriki is."

"I don't know."

"If you fancy your life, tell me where he is. Now." The sword inched closer to Kakashi's throat, but instead of scaring him it made him smile. His life up till then hade been filled with despair. He had seen friends, mentors, comrades and even his father die, and it was safe to say that he did not fancy his life very much.

But the kid that showed up while he was a prisoner made him see that life is what you make it to be. Their circumstances were never in their favour, but these were not a factor to Naruto. He wanted to let Naruto see the world he deserves to see it. Even if it costs his life, Naruto _must_ escape. "Is there an option where I get to live? I don't think I'll live very long if I tell you."

"Ultear-sama! The dark mage has arrived!"

He looked out of the crater to see one of those dark mages with full robes that hides all skin, the face of the robes plastered with the symbol for the cult of Zeref. "Ultear-sama, I've heard that you need information from a tight-lipped man."

The girl looked at him with impish eyes, and Kakashi could only imagine what lies in store for him. The dark mage stepped into the crater, and his body language showed nothing bu sadistic anticipation. "You must be the stubborn one. Fortunately, my methods don't require you to speak. Just sit back and...feel."

The dark mage stretched his hand and tried to grab his forehead, but Kakashi summoned electricity through his non-broken, left arm. "**Raikiri**!"

The spell electrocuted the mage, sending him flying back a few feet. The girl was practically seething at the continuous stalling. Without hesitation, the girl took her sword and stabbed it into his left shoulder, and the pain almost knocked him out. It took all of his will to stay awake, but the throbbing pain encouraged otherwise.

The dark mage stood up, and even without seeing the mage's face, he knew that the mage was very unhappy with that. The dark mage got up and walked briskly towards him, grabbing his neck without warning. "I was intending to hijack your mind and leave, but you made me change my mind! Be prepared for a world of pain!"

As much as Kakashi wanted to stay positive, there was no way he could escape any longer. His arms were practically dead, and his magic and strength was just about depleted. But then again, knowing that Naruto should be well-hidden and alive, and maybe already off the island, Kakashi had no regrets.

"I am prepared, but are you?" As a last ditch effort, Kakashi gathers all his magic into his stomach. The only spell he had learnt but was so sure that he was never going to use. "**Jiritsu Hōkai Mahōjin***."

The seal formed on the top of his forehead, making it visible to everyone. The dark mage and guards only took one look at the seal before running on all directions. The girl named Ultear took one last look at him, not even showing a sign of fear. "Why are you doing this for a boy you barely met?"

"Because whoever Naruto chooses to become...that man is going to change the world." Ultear grunted and teleported away. She probably was like the old him, the one that trusted no one but herself. Hopefully, one day, someone would enlighten her like how Naruto enlightened him.

_Sorry, Naruto...you'd have to get your own bowl of ramen._

-3-

* * *

*Just a quick note about that spell: Jellal used it during the Oracion Seis Arc. In english subs, it was just _a self-destruct spell_, so this is the Romanization c-n-p'ed

**All Jutsus have the "Justu" part removed. Some never had it, so no problems there. (Raikiri, aka Lightning Cutter)

***Kakashi's is NOT the copy nin-mage.


	2. All Ends With Beginnings: Pt 2

This fic will not cover every arc, probably a few that I pick, like the one with Laxus as the antagonists. I think it's called the Festiavl of Fighting arc or the Grand Fantasia arc. Yeah, that one.

Also, I'm really sorry for whatever I did this chapter. Really, I'm sorry. If you wanna see any Naruto characters, leave a PM or a review so I can think of how to slot them into the story. Jiraiya has a role already planned. And I'm not adding characters I don't fancy very much (like B, rap-like speech is difficult).

No new **named **techniques used so there aren't any bolds.

EDIT: If you wanna point out errors, please refrain from using the reviews. PMs are always a thing. I just remembered this thanks to KineticKaiser.

Baby squirrel, you so sexy, motherf*cker.

* * *

The walk down the spiral stairs was silent, so silent that footsteps echoed in the hallway. He expected Sasuke to come up with the plans, since Sasuke was most alike to Kakashi-sensei, but Sasuke kept silent throughout the walk. Sakura was still in shock, so it was unlikely that she came up with any ideas. Despite Naruto's self-proclaimed leadership skills, he was skeptical about suggesting any plans. If they wanted to get out of this place, they needed an intelligent plan, and intelligent planning was not Naruto's strong suit.

"We need a plan." Naruto voiced out, and Sasuke gave him an irritated look.

"Yeah, that's why we're thinking of a plan." Despite being annoyed by Sasuke's expression, Naruto decided to take into account the situation they were in and remain quiet. The silence continued for a few more flights of stairs, before Naruto uncontrollably spoke up again.

"This is going really deep underground, huh?"

"Do you want to get out of here alive? If yes, shut the hell up. I'm trying to think of a plan." Naruto crossed his arms, unhappy with getting chided by Sasuke when all he was trying to do was ease the tension.

"I was just pointing out that if we go too deep, it might be harder to escape."

"Is there anything else that's blatantly obvious you want to point out?" Sasuke glared at Naruto, and with equal ferocity, Naruto glared back. Before Naruto could mouth out his retort, he took a glimpse at Sakura's uncomfortable expression and chose to keep mum. Finally, they turned into the end of the flight of stairs, but it was not what they expected to find at all.

Sakura had a hard time keeping her bile in and Naruto could feel his stomach turning at the sight and smell. There was a cave with corpses littering the floor, some have even decomposed to the bones. Some were hanging by chains attached to their wrists and necks, and others looked like they died of deprivation of food, water, or both. It was a disturbing sight, but it was hard to look away. This people were probably innocent people who led misfortunate lives, like Naruto himself, but were killed despite their innocence. "What monster would do such a thing?"

Sasuke kept an unwavering, stoic expression, as he looked over his shoulder. "The same monster that is coming for our heads if we don't get a move on."

Naruto tried to keep his gaze on the ground, but found himself stealing peeks at the bodies. _Why do people who had done nothing wrong have to die like that? Why are the wicked powerful? Why are the innocent powerless?_

Unknowingly, Naruto clenched his fist tightly, holding in all the hatred and indigence that he was feeling. Never had Naruto felt so angry in his life. He was walking past these corpses, abandoning these people, and the glaring truth that he couldn't do anything about it was eating him up.

"This place is a torture chamber doubling as a graveyard, apparently. I'm not sure whether the place would be built to have an escape route." Sasuke pointed out, tapping his chin as he surveyed the area, not at all bothered by the corpses. There were thousands of bodies that were in his view, and even if he were to look past the number of bodies, the stench should have affected him in some way. _Thousands of bodies...stench...the smell is weaker than I thought..._

Then, it struck him.

"There is a way out. The stink of the corpses and the number of corpses don't correlate. The stench must be escaping through somewhere." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Naruto, seeming almost surprised that Naruto could have thought of something useful.

"Hm. Glad to see you've became slightly smarter in the past few moments."

"Yeah." There was no want to squabble with Sasuke anymore. All Naruto wanted to do was get out of this place. "Let's just walk around to find the exit."

Sakura and Sasuke nodded in silence, following as Naruto led the way through the caves. It was not spoken, but everyone had just bet on Naruto for their freedom. The walk only continued a few more steps until a cry was heard.

"AHHH!"

A blood-curling scream was what Naruto would describe it as. It came from a girl, whose voice was far too familliar. The first reaction Naruto had been to run towards the source of the voice, but as he took half a step, he stopped himself. Naruto looked back at Sasuke and Sakura, and they looked at him with concerned expressions. His two friends should not have to be involved with any stupid actions he decided to take, and he was well aware that he was no longer putting his own life at risks with his decisions.

"What are we going to do, Naruto? Your call."

At the sound of Sakura's voice, Naruto turned, his eyes widened. Sakura gave a weak smile, but it was all that Naruto could ask for.

"What's the call, dumbass? If we wanna go, we better don't miss our chance, like we did with Kakashi-sensei." Naruto turned to Sasuke, who gave a nasty smirk, looking as if he was already psyched up for a fight.

"You guys..."

Another blood-curling scream came from behind him, and Naruto knew he had no time to waste. With haste, Naruto turned on his heels and dashed for the source of the scream. _This is it! This is how we're going to change everything! Believe it!_

As they heard the scream once more, they realised that the source of the scream was just behind a wall. Naruto stopped in his tracks, leaning in and placing his ears close to the wall, and his friends followed suit. Maniac laughter came from beyond the wall, laughter so disturbing that it sent chills down Naruto's spine.

"Erza...do you understand? You can neither convince me nor force me off this island. This is my home...my sanctuary...my haven!"

The name ringed a bell in his head. _Erza...it's that girl! So she really did come back for her friend! That would mean..._

Naruto did not know why her friend was attacking the very same person who came to rescue him. It was also not known as to why her friend is defending the place that enslaved him, but Naruto felt an itch in his knuckles, and he knew just how to cure it. "Sakura, bust down this door. We're gonna save her."

As Sakura was about to reply, Sasuke interrupted her. "You expect us to go in without a plan?"

"The plan is simple. He's just one guy. We bust down the door and beat him up for doing that to the girl!"

Sasuke sighed, rubbing his temples. "Didn't you remember what Kakashi-sensei said? This girl was supposed to be strong. If she can't take down that guy, what makes you think we can?"

Despite his intense anger, Naruto had to consider this once more. He had already set his mind to save the girl, but the risk was higher than he thought. If he wanted to escape, he needed to cut the risks in such confrontations, but figuring out how was the hard part.

"Sheesh, I guess we can't beat that guy up. Here's the new plan: go in there and get the girl out. As Kakashi-sensei said, the girl is really strong. We could explain the situation to her and she could help us find our way out. Sasuke can help cover us with his fire magic, and I'll grab the girl and we retreat. Got it?" No one seemed to object, and so Naruto cracked his knuckles and backed up from the wall, summoning a few clones. "Sakura, bust down the wall."

Sakura stood up and focused her magic into her arm, while Sasuke backed up and stood beside Naruto. As they gave time for Sakura to focus, Sasuke turned to face the Naruto at the utmost front. "What if she's injured and dead weight?"

"We're still gonna save her. It doesn't change the fact that she deserves to be saved."

Sasuke turned back to the wall, and though Naruto could not see it, he could 'feel' Sasuke crack a smile. "I don't know why I bothered asking...What made you think we'd not see through your poor excuse?"

Naruto smiled too. "You're still helping, aren't you?"

Before Sasuke said anything, Sakura let out a cry as she gave it her all in that single punch. The wall did not just crumble, but instead burst open, filling the other side of the wall with dust clouds. "Now, Naruto!"

Naruto immediately jumped through the wall, trying his best to see through the dust. He made out a silhouette of a person and hastily made his way to the person. When he closed, saw the girl he had seen back at the cell. The girl laid unconscious on the ground, which was definitely not a good sign. Without much deliberation, Naruto saddles the girl on his back anyways, running back through the hole he came from.

As he exited from the hole and saw Sakura and Sasuke standing there, Naruto signaled for them to run. Naruto himself ran as fast as his legs could carry him, but with the added weight of the girl, running was a little difficult. When he was only a few steps outside of the room, he could feel the clones he summoned to fight the enemy getting knocked into smoke one by one. If the real Naruto were to be caught by that boy, he would definitely not survive. The thought alone spurred Naruto to put all the strength in his legs to use.

An abnormal gust of wind came from behind him, and by the time he looked over his shoulder, he saw the boy charging towards him. More incredibly, the boy was flying. "Holy crap! That guy is flying!"

"More importantly, he's about to catch up to us!" Sasuke turned and shot a fireball from his mouth back at the flying boy, but the boy evaded the attack without losing speed.

"Where are you taking my Erza?" The boy let out more maniac laughter and continued chasing, and even Sasuke could not obstruct him.

"Damn it, he's catching up. Just drop her and run!" Naruto looked over his shoulder at the girl, and for a moment he considered it, but he only considered it for a moment and nothing more. As long as he could feel the girl's heartbeat and breathing against his back, Naruto would not let her go.

"Shut up! We're getting out together!" Naruto started to put magic into his legs like Kakashi-sensei had thought him, giving him a significant boost in speed. With his insane burst of speed, he managed to speed past both Sasuke and Sakura, bt still not quite enough to outrun the flying boy. He needed to slow the flying boy down as much as he could, and figure out where he was running to. "Sakura, how are you holding up?"

There was no reply. "Sakura?"

Naruto looked over his shoulder as he ran to see that both Sasuke and Sakura were gone. As he slid to a stop, Naruto turned entirely to look all around him, but there was no one in sight anymore.

"Sakura!? Sasuke!? Where the hell are you guys?"

"They're right here, jinchuriki." Naruto turned to see the flying boy on his feet, and beside him was both Sasuke and Sakura being suspended in mid air by a force, both unconscious.

"Sasuke! Sakura!" Naruto's fists twitched for a second before he remembered he was holding the girl.

"They can't hear you, jinchuriki. They must have been knocked out cold while I was beating them up." The boy gave a sickening grin, and Naruto felt his anger rose onto new levels. "You're very angry, I can relate to that. It never feels good to have someone taken away from you like that. So why don't you be a good kid and hand Erza over?"

Once again, Naruto's mind brought up the idea of dropping the girl. It was supposed to be a simple rescue, but when things went wrong, he still could not adapt. He was way too stubborn, and the consequences of his actions were coming back to him hard. _Crap...What should I do?_

Out of the corner of his mind, he realized that one of his clones was still intact somewhere near him. He never had control over his clones, only being able to give them the same personality he had. Hence, whatever the clone did was out of his control, but then again, his clones usually did what he wanted due to this. Naruto could only hope that the clone had the same idea he did. "Just... give me a second to decide."

"You can have a whole minute, but if you try and cross me...your friends won't live through the minute." Naruto really wanted to hit the man, but at times like this, Naruto's fists had to be used along with his head. He placed himself in his clone's shoes, predicting what his clone would do next. Considering that the clone was cautious not to get Sasuke and Sakura get killed, he would not act rashly and wait for the real Naruto to give instructions. The only problem was that Naruto had no way of communicating with the clone, and since no instruction would be given, the minute would be wasted in a standstill. _Think, Naruto, think!_

"Your minute is up, jinchuriki." The sudden words made Naruto accidentally disperse his clone, but as he did, he attained all the clone's knowledge. He saw the clone witnessing other clones trying to land punches on the boy as the boy off-handedly used arms extending from the ground to knock them into smoke, but missing out the clone. The dust must have masked him from the boy, which meant that the boy could only cast magic on things that he could see.

The plan was clear. He needed to blind the boy before trying to escape. He felt the sandy texture below his bare feet, and he knew just what to do. "It isn't even a minute yet."

"I assure you it has been a min-" Naruto kicked the sand into the boy's face, for once glad that kids his age were still short. The sand made the boy shield his face and unable to see momentarily, and Naruto gave the boy a flying kick to the face. The boy flew back several meters, thudding onto the ground, at the same time releasing the levitation spell on Sakura and Sasuke.

The relieved Naruto ran and kneeled by their sides, glad to see them both safe.

Until he saw a hand run through each of their stomachs.

"HAAAHAHAHA! And you really thought you could outplay me? I over-estimated you just a little, jinchuriki! You're dumber than I thought!" The boy started to continue laughing, but Naruto barely minded him.

He looked down on his friends, each of them bleeding profusely from their stomachs. Confusion, hopelessness and everything else filled his mind. They were supposed to make it out together.

They were supposed to be free together.

_Sakura...Sasuke...Kakashi-sensei... Why didn't you guys run away from me? The boy who was filled with misfortune...you guys should have known better..._

He placed a hand on each of their faces, and for the first in his life, Naruto did not know what he wanted to do. His comrades were dead. There was no one to accompany him to freedom "Why can't I change anything?!"

The girl almost slipped of his back, but regained enough consciousness in time to grab Naruto's neck. "Y-You..."

He turned and laid the girl on the floor slowly, rubbing away the tears from his own eyes. "W-What did you say?"

"Y-You...did..."

Naruto watched as the girl drifted out of consciousness, returning to her limp state, on her face a soft smile. _Why are you smiling? How can you smile? HOW?!_

He felt himself losing his strength all of a sudden, struggling to even stay kneeling. He turned to see the boy, but the boy himself appeared frightened. Despite the lack of energy whatsoever, Naruto knew that losing consciousness would be a bad idea.

"_**Destroy your enemies...destroy whatever hurts you...I shall lend you my power...and return, I shall have...destruction!**_"

The voice inside of him made him tremble, but he refused to lose his consciousness. Naruto was reduced to all fours, desperately trying to stay awake. There was the feeling of emptiness inside of him, and the more Naruto fought, the louder the voice became.

"_**Give it to me! Give me control!**_"

Naruto's arms surrounded itself with a orange aura, burning on him like a fire, feeding energy from his body. All of a sudden, his arms felt lifeless, causing him to drop face first into the ground. His vision blurred, and the only thing he saw before he fell was red. He tried to focus on it, struggling to stay even conscious, but to no avail. _But at least that red...at least it was a beautiful red...not a bloody red...but a lovely red. What was her name again? Ah...Erza..._

Naruto crashed atop of Erza, which cushion his landing, making the pain, if he still felt it, a little less stronger. If Naruto had working cheek muscles, he would smile. _Thank you, Erza, for making me smile one last time._

_**Now, I have to destroy.**_

-3-

Though his eyelids were heavy, Naruto opened his eyes. For the first time in his life, Naruto saw the night sky filled with stars and heard the rumored 'relaxing ocean wave noises'. He made it. Naruto made it to Heaven.

Propping himself up with his elbows, he looked around him to see that this was most definitely not Heaven. His friends were not here to welcome him. Instead, all he saw was a lonely girl. They were at a shore, and there was nothing but sand, not the long tables of food he imagined. "At least I got to see the night sky and hear the ocean."

The girl jumped at the sound of his voice, turning to look at him with a fearful eye. The girl walked precariously over to his side and knelt by him, though a little far away. "Are you alright?"

Due to major aches all around his body, Naruto let himself slip back into a lying position, realizing how much pain his back was in. "When did I get wounded again?"

The girl looked at him with bewilderment and Naruto did not know what else to do other than stare back. "You really don't remember what happened?"

Naruto remembered. There was no way Naurto could not have remembered how he never got to say his last words to any of his comrades as they sacrificed their lives for him. What he could not remember was ever getting wounded. "Nothing, not after your friend killed my friends. I mean, I don't hold it against you or anything..."

The girl looked slightly saddened, tugging Naruto's heartstrings. "Sorry, I really didn't mean it that way. Could tell me what happened?"

"Honestly, I just woke up as well. I assumed you were the one who helped us escape."

Only then did Naruto recall that they were supposed to be in the tower. He sat up quickly and looked all around him. No tower was in sight. "I helped us escape?"

Though he still had no idea how he got out alive, he did not mind. Naruto was now free. The only regret was that he didn't make it with his comrades. It saddened him naturally, but at the same time, it drove him to survive. He would not let their sacrifices go in vain. "Let's go, Erza."

Naruto stood up, ignoring the aches and pains he was feeling all over his body. The girl took a moment to stand up, looking at him with the oddest expression. "Go where?"

"Explore the world! We are free people now! Do you know anywhere we could go?"

The girl's spirit dropped momentarily. "I'm not sure where to go. My village was destroyed when I was taken. But there was a old man from the tower called Rob who told me of a wonderful place. I-I don't know where that place is at though."

"What is it called?"

"Fairy Tail, I think."

Naruto looked out at the ocean, spotting the lone row boat on the shoreline. Without giving the idea much of a thought, he grabbed Erza's arm, dragging her along with him. Erza flustered before regaining balance and catching up with Naruto. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to Fairy Tail!"

-3-

Holding her trusty orb tight, Ultear teleported to the torture chamber underneath the tower. That was where Ultear was supposed to meet up with a fully-brainwished Jellal Fernandez. Instead, she found the placed littered with rubble, and Jellal Fernandez unconscious as well as heavily wounded. She inspected the area to see that there was a huge fight, and the fight was of a larger scale then her fight with Kakashi Hatake.

Besides Jellal Fernandez, there were two more unconscious and wounded people, a raven-haired boy and a pink-haired girl. Only through closer inspection did Ultear realized that they were dead.

"U-Ultear-sama."

Her attention was directed to the semi-conscious Jellal Fernandez. Ultear would heal Jellal if she knew healing magic, but since she did not, she had to extract information for when he suddenly passed out. "What had happened? I want details."

"T-The jinchuriki...he was here."

Ultear could feel frustration growing inside her. If she had gone to see Jellal Fernandez earlier, she would have caught the jinchuriki. "Where is he now?"

"He..escaped. The demon...the jinchuriki released it." Jellal coughed out some blood, and though medics were on the way, Ultear needed all the information she could get, in case he did not make it.

"How did he do it? Any incantations or hand signs?"

"No...he used it...after his companions...after..." Jellal fell into another coma, leaving Ultear to have to investigate until Jellal wakes up. She walked to the two dead children that he found beside Jellal, only to remember that these two were the two children that Naruto was observed to have befriend while in prison, a ravenhead and a girl with odd pink hair.

The sandy ground had a depression in between the two children, which meant the jinchuriki had knelt and known that his companions were dead. _Could that have awakened the demon? Did the demon awakened itself or did the boy awaken it?_

The medical team teleported just beside Ultear, greeting her before they got to work on Jellal Fernandez. One of the medics to grab the bodies, but Ultear stopped the medic in time. "I want these bodies returned to the lab."

The medic only nodded and proceeded to retrieve body bags. Ultear took the time to inspect the carnage caused by the demon, somewhat impressed with the amount of destruction that took place in such a small amount of time. The demon was supposed to only be awakened when the tower was complete, sealed away in the boy, but it seemed that the boy had corroded the seal. The boy was an important back up to the tower as the demon residing in the boy, also known as the Kyuubi could power the R-system and meet their goal of bringing back the Dark Wizard, if their main plan failed.

But the boy managed to hold the demon's power. How that was possible Ultear did not know, but once Ultear gets her hand on the jinchuriki, she could not wait to witness its power for herself. _The boy who now has magic rivaling the great Dark Wizard...just thinking about him makes me excited._

"Naruto...I can't wait to meet you."

* * *

Sorry. Should've seen it coming.


	3. Break On Through To The Other Side

These chapters are getting shorter and shorter, but hopefully when my break comes, I'll have plenty of time. Right now, I could only type a few paragraphs a session on my computer. But shorter chapters mean more frequent updates. Besides, each chapter will probably be one event (except for the first two which were the super long intro) and one event shouldn't be really long. Also, I like cliff hangers so shorter chapters also produces more suspense. Keeping it to at least 3000 words per chapter though.

No...they are not excuses. Really.

Leave reviews, PMs for feedback and to let me know you're still reading so I can continue being motivated. More importantly, anyone that would like to beta-read for me is more then welcome. Pop me a PM.

Banana.

* * *

Disclaimer: Not my characters...

* * *

Freedom was not what Naruto expected it to be.

Barefooted and hungry, Naruto and his new companion treaded on the gravel path, hoping that they would make it to a town or village. They needed to at least fill their stomachs before finding their way to "Fairy Tail", as well as get some information on where the place actually is. Unfortunately, they have walked down the same path for an hour, and yet there was no town or village in sight. "Are you holding up, Erza?"

Erza nodded, though Naruto could see that like himself, Erza was exhausted and hungry. Despite this, Naruto did not suggest stopping because he knew very well that Erza would insist on continuing. That was what Naruto had come to know about over the past few hours spent walking with her.

Naruto snapped out of his trance when he heard a rumbling sound coming from behind him. He turned to see a carriage, apparently moving by a magic source. An idea then struck Naruto. "Erza, let's try to flag down the carriage! They should be heading to a nearby town too!"

"I don't think it would work...After all, we are two dirty to enter a carriage."

"Who wouldn't help two poor children? Let's just give it a try!" Naruto stood on the path, waving at the carriage frantically, but the carriage did not slow down the slightest. Thinking that the driver did not see him, Naruto waved again, but the driver had no intention of stopping. Despite showing no signs of slowing down, Naruto stayed rooted to the path. _Surely, they wouldn't run a kid over?_

Unfortunately, the driver did not think like Naruto. Instead, Naruto could see the driver's annoyed expression as the vehicle speeding up. By a bare second, Naruto leapt out to the right, barely dodging the vehicle. With a thud, he landed on the gravel path, scraping his knees again. As he looked towards the speeding vehicle, he caught a glimpse of the passenger in the vehicle; a man with an oversized body and a cigar in his mouth, smugly smirking at him. _It's the same outside..._

He got up just in time for Erza to run to his side. "Are you okay, Naruto? Why did you do something so dangerous in the first place?"

Even though Naruto wanted to tell Erza that he knew nothing about the outside world, he did not. Instead, he continued walking. _Why is it the same everywhere?_

Erza must have picked up that Naruto was down, keeping mum even though Naruto had not replied, resuming their walk along the gravel path. She probably figured out.

He was disappointed at 'freedom'.

-3-

After a tiresome walk, they finally made it into a town, and Naruto was amazed. There were many people walking about, going about their business. He used to imagine he was a townsfolk, eating different foods with Sakura and Sasuke, and it fit his constructed image almost perfectly.

Though, it had one flaw. They were not here with him. He promised not to dwell on it, but it was proving to be very difficult. Since he now has Erza following him around, he could not afford to get depressed, no matter how much effort it took. He put on his cheerful grin again, hoping that even if he did not feel happy, he would show happiness. "This is exactly how I expected it to be! Let's go get some food!"

Before he took half a step, Erza tugged him by his collar back, dragging him all the way into an alley. She took a look outside, supposedly looking out for enemies, though Naruto was sure there was not any. "Erza, what are you doing? I was going to get some food!"

"We have no jewels, Naruto. We need jewels to buy food." Naruto scratched his head in confusion. It was the first time he heard of the term 'jewels', but he knew that 'jewels' acted as currency outside. _Crap, the outside isn't much better at all._

"We'll just have to earn jewels then. You stay here, Erza. I'll go look for jewels." Naruto was about to step out of the alley before Erza tugged him back in the same fashion. "What is it this time?"

"Be careful." Erza blushed a little and looked away, causing Naruto to uncontrollably smile. He stood with a look of confidence, laughing heartily.

"This is me you're talking about. There's no one that could stop me!" Erza was on the verge of cracking up, and Naruto knew he got the job done. "I'll return safely with jewels, and lots too!"

With those last words, Naruto walked out of the alley, mixing in with the crowd. Naruto knew Erza could defend herself probably better than he could, but surviving was not solely about self-defence. Being able to adapt was crucial, and luckily for him, Naruto had learnt to adapt since birth.

As he walked among the townsfolk, Naruto kept an eye of his surroundings. He needed jewels, but he had no idea how to get them. People from towns usually have 'jobs', but Naruto knew that no one would hire him at this age. Despite this, Naruto knew he could earn the jewels necessary as long as he looked hard enough.

After an hour of searching, Naruto's hype was almost depleted. The situation was starting to look more hopeless. The thought of going back to Erza empty-handed did not help lift his spirits either. _Damn, is there really nothing I can do?_

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a screech ahead. Curiosity overtook him, forcing him to take a look at what happened. A huge crowd gathered around the spot, though it did not stop Naruto from taking a look. He snuck into an alley, and it only took seconds to come up with a plan.

Naruto summoned a clone, stationing it near a wall. With as much speed as he could muster, Naruto ran towards the clone, stepping on to the clone's shoulders and climbing up onto the rooftop. Making his way to the ledge, Naruto peered down to see the attraction.

To his disdain, the man that was attracting so much attention was the first man that he had come to hate during his time outside. The irksome aristocrat stepped out of his carriage, looking at the crowd with a haughty look, as if he was a big shot, although he probably was. The odd thing was that the villager were actually being courteous to him, even though all of them could see his overwhelming arrogance. The aristocrat were looking down on this people despite their hospitality. "Out of the way, peasants!"

It was disgusting. There were many things Naruto had endured, but the only thing that made Naruto clench his fists until his knuckles turned white was that.

Injustice.

Naruto never asked for a prosperous life. All he wanted was what he deserved, and though Naruto was not the kindest man on Earthland, he knew that he deserved better than an empty stomach and even emptier pockets.

It was only then when Naruto remembered to check his rags' pockets. After a little search, Naruto heaved a sigh along with worries when he felt the shape of the book in his pocket. _Kakashi-sensei...what should I do?_

Although not all Kakashi-sensei's actions were justifiable, Naruto could tell that he was a wise man who had weathered through many tough times. If anyone were to find him a solution, it would be Kakashi-sensei. Instead of asking Kakashi-sensei for instructions, Naruto started to ask a different question. _What would Kakashi-sensei do?_

He thought back to what Kakashi-sensei had done, but all of his memories were of Kakashi-sensei brutally murdering the guards for the sake of their safety. Not once did Kakashi-sensei flinch.

With a new insight, Naruto turned his attention back to the smirking aristocrat. With a whole new expression on his face, Naruto whispered to himself. "I'll change everything, believe it."

-3-

Half of an hour passed, and Naruto kept silent on the same spot. Unlike lazing around like Naruto usually did while rooted in a spot, Naruto was planning. He looked at his surroundings, taking in as many factors as possible. The one thing Naruto admired about Kakashi-sensei was that the man always had a plan, and though Naruto was the kind to 'wing it', it didn't hurt to have a plan. He knew that the fatso was in the inn under him and he knew that the guards were waiting for the aristocrat outside.

It was way too easy.

Finalizing his plan, Naruto summoned two clones. According to Naruto's plan, two clones was all he needed. One for a diversion, one as a lookout, and himself to get the job done.

Before he initiated his plan, he gazed at the sun, wondering how long Erza must have waited. _Five minutes...just wait five more minutes, Erza._

Naruto nodded to the first clone, signalling for him to execute his part of the plan. Laying low on the roof, Naruto watched as his clone quietly descended from the roof and weaving into the crowd. The clone's job was to create a simple diversion, one that could keep the guards busy for a good amount of time. Naruto knew the best way to do that was, as Naruto would call it, let them chase their own tail.

When the clone reached optimal distance, he hopped into the carriage. Before the guards could react, the clone grabbed the steering wheel, pumping magic into it. In an instant, the carriage came to life, accelerating insanely quickly, almost crashing the vehicle. Everyone in the vicinity started to flee, which may or may have not been part of the plan. After familiarizing himself with the vehicle, the clone drove it into the distance, and the guards started to panic. Orders were being shouted, and soon, almost all of the guards were dispatched. All Naruto was wondering then was how fun it must have been playing tag with that carriage. _Damn, it must've been fun._

Shaking his head to clear any remaining unnecessary thoughts, Naruto put his head back into the mission at hand. Seeing that there were only two guards left, Naruto was a little disappointed. Though two was not a very big number, Naruto was only expecting one, and even then it would be difficult. Naruto knew that wasting magic on summoning an extra clone might wear him out even further than he already was, so Naruto had no choice but to make use of the other clone.

Thinking alike allowed the clone to understand what Naruto's signs meant. All Naruto needed to do was point at the guard to inform the clone of his plan. After counting down to three with his fingers, Naruto and his clone jumped down simultaneously, grabbing the guards by their necks.

_Take away their vision. _Naruto and his clone jabbed the guards' eyes with their two fingers, sending them in a state of frenzy.

_Steal their balance._ As hard as they could, the two look-a-likes kicked their opponents in the thighs, causing them to lose balance and fall to the ground.

_Destroy their manhood. _With a ruthless stomp, they crushed their opponents' manhoods, and all they heard was half a scream before the two men lost consciousness. _And that's how a Naruto does it._

As quickly and discreetly as possible, Naruto and his clone dragged the bodies to a nearby alley. Before Naruto went into the inn to finish the job, he searched the guard. As someone who had a scarce of everything in his life, scavenging had been a skill he learnt unconsciously, and the most important rule of scavenging is to leave no stones unturned.

Despite searching every inch of the guards' uniforms, not a single jewel was found on them. Instead, Naruto found several daggers hidden in the different compartments of their uniform. Though daggers were not jewels, Naruto had a feeling a dagger would come in handy.

Hiding the dagger in a compartment in his rags, Naruto decided to not waste too much time. The guards would be back anytime, and the quicker he was, the lower the risks.

After taking deep breaths to calm himself down, Naruto casually walked into the inn. The inn owner gave him a look of suspicion, probably due to the fact that he was wearing rags, but the inn owner remained behind the counter, allowing him to advance to the second floor. Walking up the stairs, Naruto noticed that the inn was relatively quiet. Only one room was producing noise, and he knew just who was in that room.

Naruto looked left and found the source of the noise; the room all the way at the end. That was when he felt his adrenaline pumping. He could feel the excitement building inside him. Reaching into his rags, Naruto retrieved his dagger. As much as Naruto would like to deceive himself, he knew why he took the dagger.

Without hesitation, Naruto charged towards the door, ramming into it at a high-speed, effectively dislodging it from its hinges. The man was on the inn's bed, looking at him with the utmost shock, which later turned to fear. Beside him laid a nude women with too much makeup, who was as shock. As both of them were nude, they were defenceless.

Like Naruto thought. It was way too easy.

"W-What are you doing, l-little boy? D-D you know who I am?" The man trembled as he cowered behind the women, who wanted to cower instead, but only took refuge behind a blanket.

"Jewels. All of it. Now."

The arrogant aristocrat tried his best to pull of a smirk of confidence, but he was shaking and stuttering so badly it did not look convincing at all. "Y-You won't make it out of here. I-I'll let you go if y-you leave now!"

It did not take much for Naruto to lose his patience, but the aristocrat did not know that. Walking up to the aristocrat, Naruto jabbed the dagger into the man's thigh without batting an eyelid. The man gave a bloodcurling scream, but it only lasted a second as Naruto gave the man a punch to the face to shut him up.

The women went with her better judgement and ran, leaving the room with him and the aristocrat. The sheets were stained with blood and the aristocrat was crying, but Naruto was not bothered at all. Naruto would not sympathize those who did not deserve sympathy. Not one bit.

"Give me your jewels or I'll give you another wound. Next time, I'll aim for the chest." The man whimpered in pain, but managed to point at the bedside drawer. Naruto opened the drawer and retrieved a pouch, checking its contents. There was plenty for food and clothes to travel for weeks, and unless Fairy Tail was on the other end of Earthland, Naruto was positive he and Erza could make it there.

Tucking the pouch into his rags, Naruto took one last look at the man. As pitiful as the man looked, Naruto refused to feel bad. "You had it coming."

Saying his piece, Naruto walked out of the room and back down the hallway, avoiding the gaze of the inn owner and walked back into the crowd. The guards were not even back yet. As a precaution, Naruto slipped the bloody knife into a stranger's grocer bag and made his way back to Erza.

With a pouch full of jewels, Naruto can safely say to himself that he had done it. The evil were left wounded and the good could now prosper.

Naruto changed everything.

-3-

Though Erza knew that Naruto was a goofy kid, she knew that Naruto was a reliable person. He did bust her out of the tower and find their way to the nearest town. Despite all this, Erza could not shake of the worry in her. It had been several hours, and there was still no sign of Naruto.

Erza did not mind being hungry or filthy, but Erza did not like being alone.

As Erza was just about to roam the town in search of Naruto, the said boy walked back casually in to the alley, wearing a brand new outfit. A bright orange jumpsuit, to be precise, and though Erza found orange slighty too eye-catching, it did suit Naruto very well. "So? What'd you think?"

"It's very...nice."

"Great! Well, I bought one for you too!" Naruto handed Erza a bag, and Erza received it with a little trepidation, hoping it was not another orange jumpsuit. Fortunately, it was not, but a simple white blouse and blue skirt. She looked back at Naruto who gave her a wide grin. "It should look pretty on you!"

Though Erza was glad fo the new clothes she had received, she was suspicious about the source. There was no way anyone could have earn money for clothes in less than a few hours. "Where did you get these from?"

Naruto did not break from his grin. "Does it matter?"

It mattered to Erza, but from the look on Naruto's face, she knew that Naruto did not want to reveal anything. The boy, contrary to appearance, was intelligent enough to not make mistakes, but what Erza hoped he had taken into account was the moral consequences as well. Stealing, even a few pieces of clothing was not fine at all. "I hope you didn't do anything wrong, Naruto."

"I didn't. Hurry up and get changed! Let's go eat something!"

"M-Maybe you should turn around, Naruto." Erza looked away to hide her blush and out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Naruto was blushing too. As she removed her rags, Erza blurted out a thought. "Don't leave me alone, Naruto."

Only after a while did Erza realize what she had just said, and when she was about to retract her words, she turned around to see Naruto with his back towards her, not moving an inch nor saying a word. After a few seconds of silence, as Erza continued to put on her clothes, Naruto replied. "You too, Erza."

Erza tucked her blouse in just as his words seeped into her brain. As Erza did not know what to say, she left the topic as it was. "I'm done. Let's go get some food."

Naruto turned around excitedly, grabbing Erza's hand. "C'mon! I saw some really good food on the way back..."

As Naruto dragged her into the crowd, Erza smiled for the first time since they left the tower. She smiled for the first time since she last saw her friends, because Erza realized.

With Naruto, there was always a reason to smile.


	4. Don't Get Lost In Heaven

We're almost there...the hundred favorite milestone. Thank you so much for the favourites, and it brings a smile to my face when I have more 'favorites' than 'follows'. I'm glad that most of you are enjoying, and the best has yet to present itself.

Next chapter, I'm gonna cannonball (or should I say...'canon'-ball...*wink*) into the timeline of the FT series. If you guys did not already know, Naruto in this story is born a year ahead of Erza. I don't really know whether he was twelve or thirteen in his own series, so I'm just gonna say he's thirteen. Erza joined Fairy Tail at twelve so the ages should something like this (as of Lucy joining FT):

20: Naruto

19: Jellal, Erza, Ultear, Mirajane, Cana

18: Natsu, Gray, Elfman

17: Lucy, Lisanna, Juvia

It's funny that Naruto is the oldest but there's a purpose. It's because...¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ...figure it out yourself. There's definitely a reason.

Still looking for any interested _**beta readers**_. - No one can miss this now.

Enjoy.

* * *

Disclaimer: Not my characters...

* * *

Ever since Naruto had brought back jewels, things had started to look up. They had new clothes, a good supply of food and even some left for transportation and information. After he had asked around for information about this 'Fairy Tail', Naruto finally made his way to the seaport with Erza, where he was told he could board a vessel to the city of Magnolia, where Fairy Tail was located at.

Other information the people gave him was that Fairy Tail was a rowdy place, though rowdy was not a bad thing in Naruto's eyes. People also said that Fairy Tail was unlawful, while others also labeled Fairy Tail as the best guild around, but the best thing about Fairy Tail he heard so far was the one thing he had hoped for.

Fairy Tail was said to be one big family.

He gripped his map hard, feeling the impatience building inside him. Naruto would arrive at Fairy Tail even if it was the last thing he did. He broke out of his thoughts when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Little did he know, the queue for tickets on board in front of him had moved significantly. Bowing in apology, Naruto moved forward, as well as tilted his head to check how much longer it would take.

"Did you hear about the duke getting stabbed?"

Naruto turned his attention at the statement, his heart skipping a beat. The two men behind him were conversing about it, and Naruto did not expect the news to travel so quickly. Trying to extract as much information as possible, Naruto turned around with the friendliest grin he could form. "Could you tell me about it too, sir?"

The man only considered for a moment before speaking. He bent in close, pulling his companion and Naruto in closer as well. "There was a corrupt duke a few towns away who was robbed by a mere boy. The funny thing was the boy, who wore rags, managed to defeat the guards so quickly! I heard he embezzled funds from the Magic Council, using the plight of his villages as an excuse! Serves that bastard right!"

Naruto nodded at the comment, feeling pleased that someone recognized his gallant stunt.

"It's a shame the boy is probably gonna get executed when he's caught."

Naruto choked on his own saliva. "WHAT!?"

"Of course, dude. He pissed off such a powerful guy, even if the council doesn't sentence him to death, the duke would probably come for his head. Bastards like them always hold a grudge." Naruto's mind became blank. If he had known the man was so powerful, Naruto would have thought twice before attacking the man.

"I-I see..." Naruto turned back to face the ticket booth, leaving the conversation. As he gripped his map harder, Naruto was even more impatient. As Naruto had pledged earlier, he would arrive at Fairy Tail if it was the last thing he would do.

It most probably would be the last thing he would do.

-3-

The vessel was crowded, so crowded that though Naruto wanted to wander about the vessel, there was no space to even walk. Naruto settled for sitting in his allocated seat instead, allowing a seasick Erza to lean on him as she takes a nap. Though thinking was not something Naruto did very often, he knew for Erza's sake, he had to put some thought into the situation.

As much as Naruto would like to join Fairy Tail, Naruto knew that after what he had done, danger would come looking for him, and he definitely did not want danger to befall Erza or anyone not involved. It was his problem, so he would solve it.

He took a look at Erza's sleeping expression, and uncontrollably, he smiled. Erza may have been in the tower with him, but she was not like him. Erza did not attract misfortune like he did. She probably had a family and friends before being a slave, and she deserved all of it, as opposed to Naruto himself, who had never done anything right.

Dimwitted, irrational and dense, Naruto was no use, unloved, but when people like Erza, along with his cellmates, was introduced into his life, Naruto felt that warmth he had desired since the day he was born. But Naruto had learnt that the 'warmth' he felt was a mere illusion.

Naruto could not 'fit'. There was always a place for Erza, a strong wizard with equal strong moral values. No one would want him, a troublemaker who attract misfortune. Even the dimwitted Naruto would have learnt his place by then. The only meaningful thing Naruto could do was pave the way for Erza, at the same time keeping himself away from her.

If he was caught, she would be caught too, and Naruto could not live with that.

The vessel's horn sounded, signaling that they were nearing the port of Magnolia. It reminded Naruto that his time with Erza was almost up.

"Erza, wake up." Erza slowly opened her eyes, batting her eyelids a few times before realizing that she was leaning on Naruto. The look on Erza's face when she realized that she had slept while drooling on his shoulder the whole time made Naruto chuckle. "Let's go get something to eat, sleepyhead."

Erza, who was trying to shake off the embarrassment, avoided any talk about her nap. "Y-Yes, I'm hungry. We should eat something."

"Great! I know just where to eat!"

-3-

Naruto stood in front of the legendary stall, where the gods order their food from. He did not need his map or any information. The aroma was so distinct, so fragrant that with Naruto's nose alone, he could track down the store from a mile away. "T-This is the shop!"

Before he lost control of his salivary glands, Naruto took a seat, patting the seat to signal for Erza to take a seat behind him, but was given a hesitant look by Erza. "What's wrong, Erza? Ramen is really delicious!"

"Should we be spending money unnecessarily? Even if we find a job, we might not-"

"C'mon, Erza! Isn't the reason we escaped to experience life? This is it! The meaning of life is right here in front of us." Without even waiting for Erza's rebuttal, Naruto waved at the assistant. "Excuse me! Ramen please!"

The assistant came over, greeting him with the kindest of smiles. "What kind would you like?"

"Kinds? What kinds are there?"

It took a while for the assistant to explain the kinds of ramen, and even after her detailed explanation, Naruto was still spoilt for choice. "Erza, what do you think I should get?"

No response. Naruto turned to ask again, but instead caught Erza staring into space. "Erza?"

"Sliced pork with miso."

Naruto did not say anything about Erza's odd behaviour, instead passing it off as lethargy. "Three bowls of miso ramen with sliced pork please."

The assistant nodded and left with the same smile, leaving no one in Naruto's and Erza's vicinity, making it the perfect chance for Erza to open up. "You can tell me what's wrong, Erza."

"You're the one not telling me what's wrong!"

Erza shouted, and though her outburst did not go unnoticed, no one particularly was concerned. "What are you talking about, Erza? I'm not-"

"You're trying to smile, but I can see it, Naruto. Y-You're planning to leave, aren't you? That's why you're spending all the money."

Unfortunately, Erza had hit the nail, though he was not really planning on spending all the money, but making as much memories as he could with Erza. He should have expected someone as intelligent as Erza to figure out. "Erza...I'll tell you about it later. Don't be angry with me...please?"

Naruto gave his best puppy look, and though Naruto was sure it would fail, instead, it made Erza look away, which meant that Erza could not withstand his pitiful look. "You must tell me about it later. No excuses."

Naruto saluted, straightened his back and looked at Erza with grateful eyes. "Yes, ma'am!"

-3-

After a half a day of splurging money on several non-necessities, Naruto knew it was time to let go. The sun had risen, dyeing the sky an orange that resembled his jumpsuit. And just like him, that orange cannot glow forever.

Erza held his hand as they walked down the path that would lead them to Fairy Tail. It was oddly quiet, but for the first time, Naruto might have felt comfortable silence. Erza looked nervous, as if she wanted to remind him to tell her everything, but she too did not want to break the mood. It was a pleasant mood after all, a mood that only lasts a while.

"Today was fun, wasn't it?" Naruto smiled, or at least he tried his hardest to smile.

"Yes, it was. So...why must you leave?" Only silence followed her question, but they did not stop walking, nor did they look each other in the face. Naruto could not bear to look at Erza's face, and Erza probably could not look at his either. If he did, Naruto could not hold up his smile any longer.

They found themselves standing in front of the guild hall of Fairy Tail in no time, and just by standing outside its doors and listening to the loud noises, Naruto could tell that these were a bunch of fun people. He definitely was not disappointed when he opened the large swinging doors.

An atmosphere of celebration filled the air, along with the smell of booze and meat. There was not one person that was not enjoying themselves. Whether it was talking to one another or dancing terribly, the people in the guild were having fun, letting go of all their worries.

If only Naruto could be one of them.

Instead, Naruto gripped tighter onto Erza's hand, walking and maneuvering through the crowd, making his way to the door at the opposite side of the room. The door that was labeled with the words: "Guild Master".

As they finally squeezed through the door and took a peek in it, Naruto saw no one sitting behind the desk, and yet a voice came from behind it. "Who is it? Did another job go wrong again? Annoying little brats..."

Naruto felt a little nervous approaching the guild master who hid behind the desk, as he was careful not to make a bad impression. This was regarding Erza's future guild and he needed to be courteous. "Excuse me, Mr. Guild Master...we have come to apply-"

"Apply? Apply! Yes, of course! Did I say another job went wrong here? Well, of course nothing went wrong! Fairy Tail has a excellent track record of satisfying their employers!" That was not what Naruto heard, but Naruto was willing to let it slide. "Come on in!"

Naruto and Erza stepped into the room, surveying the room filled with messy paperwork and a few pornographic magazines. The guild master startled them by jumping onto the desk. Whereas most adults would hit their head if they were to jump onto a desk, the guild master did not. That was because the guild master had the height of a gnome, and if Naruto were to stop restraining himself, he would had laughed till his stomach hurt. _Must...not...laugh..._

"You can call me Guild Master Makarov. Ah...A boy and a girl! We have a few guild members your age around here, though some of them are not really smart...I'm sure the both of you will...fit in." In that small pause, Naruto noticed that the guild master cast a glint of suspicion at him.

"Erza, I'll handle the negotiations. Could you wait outside?"

"But...you must remember to tell me, okay?" Naruto nodded without looking back, only returning his focus to the guild master when he heard the door shut. At the same time, Naruto took off the smile he had struggled to keep on. "You know about what I've done, don't you?"

Makarov gave him a regretful nod, searching into the pile of papers to take out a poster, on it was a poor sketch of him. "I'm sorry, but...as a guild under the Magic Council, I can't officially indoctrinate you into the guild."

"I'm not asking that much from you. I understand my place. All I hope for is that Erza can find her place here." Naruto got down on his knees, this time willingly scrapping his knees. With a kowtow, he pleaded. "Please...let Erza join the guild."

"Get up first, boy. Even if you didn't ask me too, I would have taken her in. I can sense the immense magic power in her. She's definitely going to become a strong, righteous wizard." The guild master jumped of his desk and helped him up. As he got a good look at Makarov's face, he noticed that the petite man was smiling, and in the most heart-warming way. "And you too, young one, will be a strong and righteous wizard."

"How can I be righteous? I'm a criminal. All I wanted was to teach that man a lesson, but instead I became the evil one. I...don't know what to do. I don't want to be executed!" Naruto tried to take steady breaths, but to no avail; his trembling would not stop.

"What is your name, boy?"

"Naruto."

"Then listen up, Naruto. You aren't going to be executed. There are laws in these kingdom, and disallowing executions of children is one of them. I have a friend in the Magic Council who can help you, but ultimately, you will be jailed."

The word "jailed" caused a stir in Naruto's mind. The trembling became more violent, and there was no stopping it. "Jail? But I just escaped from that place...I don't want to go back in there!"

"Naruto!" He jumped at the sound of his name as well as the look on Makarov's face; a dead serious face that was nothing like the smile he put on before. "There are times where you have to face the consequences of your actions, but that does not make you a failure, it makes you responsible. Fairy Tail has a bunch of unjust complaints that I have to deal with, but I deal with it, because I have my children to take care of. Do you want Erza to lose you?"

Naruto shook his head, considering the words of the old man. "I really don't want to leave."

"You aren't leaving. Fairy Tail's doors will always open for you, Naruto." Makarov walked back around his desk retrieving a small lacrima from his desk drawer, tossing it to Naruto who caught it in time. "This is a teleportation lacrima. It teleports you to the Magic Council's headquarters when you pump magic into it and is distributed to guild masters. The choice is yours, Naruto. When you come back to Fairy Tail, no one will look down on you, especially not Erza."

Naruto held the marble-sized lacrima in his palm, considering his choices. He could continue running, or he could take a chance and maybe, just _maybe_, the outside world would seem better. Just _maybe_, Naruto could spent his time with Erza and the rest of Fairy Tail. "I'll go."

Makarov's face lightened into a smile. "I hope you understand that it's the right thing to do. Would you like to say good bye to Erza?"

"No. I can't see her upset in front of me. Make sure to take care of Erza. Tell her I'll be back in no time." Just before Naruto was about to pump magic and teleport before he had time to change his mind, Makarov grabbed his hand, stopping the teleportation process.

"One more thing. When they ask for you full name, tell them proudly and with your head held high that you are Naruto Dreyar, the grandson of the great Makarov Dreyar." That was the moment Naruto could feel his heart truly touched for the first time. It was the first time he had some refer to him as family, something he had hoped for and prayed for, and now that it had happened to him, Naruto coud not have asked for more.

"See you, Jii-chan." _Goodbye, Erza._

The last thing he saw before he teleported was the sight of his grandfather smiling, and though Naruto knew he was about to be jailed, but he did not feel like that was the case.

_Why do I feel so complete?_

-3-

Erza's new guild master stepped out of the office, but there was no one behind him. There was tons of questions in Erza's head, but those were merely to give Erza a false hope. Naruto had left, leaving Erza in this guild. When the guild master walked up to her, she made the first move. "Where's Naruto?"

Makarov leaked a look of guilt over his face, and Erza could deduced what happened. "He left, but he is doing the right thing. He is being the responsible man he promised me he'll be."

When people talked in riddles, Erza knew not to probe, although Erza in truth really wanted to know. "Will he come back?"

Makarov patted her head, a gesture she had not felt in a long time. "Yes. We may write letters to him, so it wouldn't feel like he left at all."

Though Erza was glad that letters could still be exchanged, it was not the same. Naruto had brought her here, and it should only be fair if Naruto got to stay here. There were people dancing and brawling, and these were Naruto's kind of hobbies. "Naruto would have loved it here."

Only after Makarov wiped her cheeks did Erza realize her uninjured eye was leaking tears. On the old man's face was a kind-hearted, genuine smile. "So let's have fun in his place, shall we?"

With the back of her hand, Erza wiped her own tears. She promised not to cry ever since she saw Naruto. It would not have been fair that Naruto who was trying so hard continued to smile as she weeps. She looked behind her at the group of kids her age, a few boys and girls.

_I hope we'd make friends together when you come back, Naruto. _Erza took a step towards the group, her first step in starting her new adventure, the adventure known as Fairy Tail.

_Because I'll be waiting._


	5. Everytime Feels Like A Revival

I found an awesome picture while surfing the interwebz. I don't recall seeing the picture in the manga, because if I did, I would have looked for it on the interwebz a long time ago. Anyways, it's a picture of Minato and Kushina when they were younger. Kinda looks like Naruto and Erza, doesn't it?

Tell me what you think of the new cover, and more importantly, the story itself. I'm looking for criticism, so be sure to throw anything at me. If you want to go into detail, PM's are always a thing.

Next up is the time-frame between the Phantom Lord arc and the Tower of Heaven arc, which means the events that occur are occurring simultaneously to the Loke arc.

This chapter is a little early, ain't it?

Here ya' go. The next chapter:

* * *

Disclaimer: Not my characters...

* * *

_Naruto braved the cruel elements in a harsh enclosement_

_He wanted out, but to stay, Naruto found a reason_

_Though he was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment,_

_Seven have passed, and he would soon experience his freedom_

-3-

"Ninety-eight, ninety nine...and...a hundred! Yosh!" Naruto stood up from his push up position. "Damn, this is exhausting."

Grabbing the towel of his bunk bed, Naruto gave his sweaty brow a wipe. Though it was extremely tiring, Naruto made it a point to do it everyday. After all, there was nothing to do in prison but workout.

The average day in prison consisted of fourteen hours of free time in his cell, and Naruto only so few options. Half of the time, Naruto would talk to his cellmate or read the book Kakashi-sensei left for him, but since his cellmate was somewhere else and he read the book twenty times from cover to cover, Naruto had no choice but to do double his usual workout.

After all, Naruto's goal was to join Fairy Tail and be the strongest wizard there, and there was no better way to burn time than to train till the day he returns. "Time for set number twenty-six!"

Naruto returned to his push up position. After thirty sets of hundred sit-ups and twenty sets of hundred push ups a day, Naruto was safe to say that he was in an excellent condition. Due to the only spell Naruto had learnt, physical fitness was of utmost most importance. A side benefit was that his body served as a major chick magnet, and Naruto had to admit, sometimes that became his main drive.

As Naruto was midway through his set, the cell door opened. "Taking me for more tests...how troublesome."

At the sound of his cellmate, Naruto got back up, deciding to forgo his workout since his cellmate was back. "They're still giving you tests, Shikamaru?"

"They don't seem to believe that I had not cheated in the civil service scholarship examinations. Now they lock me up and force me to do all these questions. What a drag." Shikamaru slipped under the bottom bunk, his head on his forearms, gazing at the underside of the top bunk. Never once did Naruto see Shikamaru workout these few years, and yet he was fit. All he ever did was stared at the nothingness of the underside of Naruto's bunk.

"Why don't they believe you?"

"Because I'm poor, and apparently poor people cannot be smart." Shikamaru might have pouted, but Naruto couldn't tell due to how Shikamaru used as little facial muscles as possible for his facial expressions. "Maybe I should give up and admit that I cheated. It's too troublesome to continue taking these questions."

"Give up?" Naruto did not include the phrase 'give up' in his vocabulary, and he wanted Shikamaru to un-learn that word as well. "You can't give up! If it took a few more tests to get out of here, I would definitely do it to! Don't you have anything you miss back home?"

The lazy man took a few moments to think before giving his answer. "Well, I do miss playing shogi with my old man and watching clouds with my buddy, but I'm glad that I left my mother and girlfriend. Doing chores and selling flowers really is troublesome."

After sitting down on the only chair in the room, Naruto started to ponder about his own situation. "Yeah...I kinda wanna see Erza again but I'm pretty sure she'll be pretty angry considering the fact that I didn't say goodbye. Sometimes getting out of here is a little troublesome, ya' know?"

"I didn't ask about-"

"But, I'm pretty sure she isn't angry anymore. We're exchanging letters and stuff, and I asked around. Apparently she's a really strong wizard. Did you know the people are calling her-"

"Titania, Queen of Fairies. Became an S-Class Wizard and told you about it four years ago. Formed a team a few weeks ago. I've heard your stories plenty of times. You're a troublesome cellmate, Naruto." Naruto only laughed off the comment, knowing that a guy who finds getting out of bed 'troublesome' would use the term loosely anyways.

Their conversation ended when a few knocks and a click on the door signaled one of the few times prisoners got let out of their cells. Shikamaru sighed as he slowly got off his bunk like an elderly man, while Naruto jumped off his chair in excitement. "Sheesh! Finally, I'm starving!"

-3-

By the time Naruto got there, there was already an enormous queue, so big that it meandered around several tables. "Damn it, I told you we should've walked faster! Look at the line!"

"We even have to queue for food. How troublesome."

Despite Naruto's impatience, he indignantly swallowed it the 'Shikamaru' way, joining the queue before it got any longer. After a few minutes, Naruto found it hard to keep still, and started to talk to Shikamaru about his best bud and his girlfriend, who in turn felt that going along with it was the least troublesome solution.

Apparently, Shikamaru's best friend was someone who he felt comfortable with, and his girlfriend was someone who Shikamaru found endearing whenever she softened up. Naruto then started to wonder what Erza meant to him, as both descriptions seemed to fit her.

His thoughts and conversation were interrupted when he heard a commotion at the front of the queue. As soon as the other prisoners heard the commotion, the queue was disbanded, and everyone circled around the source of the commotion. "Oh, look. The queue is empty. I'll help myself then!"

"You picked a bad place to be in, you little shit!"

"P-Please...I'm sorry!"

Something in Naruto stirred. Prison fights were not uncommon, and bored prisoners tend to like watching burly man trading blows at each other, but it did not sound like the case. As Naruto was sightly taller than most, he decided to peek over the other prisoners' shoulders, and to his horror, he realized that it was no fight.

They were out right beating him up. Five men on one, and there was no holding back from the five.

Naruto felt an urge to go over there and give them a good beating of his own, only to be stopped by a tug of his collar. "Do you really want to do this, Naruto? You've had four fights in the last month. One more and your jail-time gets extended. Is it worth the trouble?"

A smirk lit up Naruto's face. "Extended? I don't care. Jii-san told me that as long as I take responsibility for my actions, there's nothing wrong with serving justice."

Shikamaru thought about it for a moment, but alas, he removed his grip on Naruto's collar. "Suit yourself."

With a silent nod of gratification, Naruto sprinted into the crowd, shoving aside the other spectators. When he made it to the centre, Naruto grabbed one of the men's collar, giving one of them an overhead throw into some shelves holding plates. Only then were the other men alerted by his presence. "What the hell do you think you're doing to my guildmate?"

"I was just throwing him around. Weren't you guys doing the same to that guy?"

The man walked up to Naruto, and though the man had the advantage in numbers, Naruto stood rooted to his spot. The man grabbed Naruto on the collar, and it took Naruto all of his self-control not to retaliate on reflex. "You have a death wish, punk?"

Naruto looked at the men that were ready to fight. Without the man who was flung away, there were only four clumsy, burly men. _Ten seconds_.

To settle the man gripping his collar, all Naruto had to do was an over-the-back toss. Catching the man's wrists and kicking the man's feet sufficiently ruined the man's balance. Once the man lost his balance, Naruto turned and pulled the man over his shoulder, flipping him over and pummeling him down onto the ground. The result was a cracking noise that sounded extremely painful, especially since the bigger the opponent was, the more bigger the impact. "Okay, who's next?"

The three remaining burly men charged at him all at once, but due to their humongous size, their punches were slow and predictable. Each of them took a few punches in the gut and the face before their lights went out, and Naruto was not worn out in the slightest bit. "Really? That all you got?"

"This isn't...over..."

Naruto gave the man one last kick to the face, knocking him out cold. "Now it should be."

"Step aside! All prisoners put your hands on your heads!" Finally, the guards show up, and all the prisoners complied to their instructions, Naruto included. When they shoved through the crowd, they saw Naruto standing over five burly knocked out men, and all Naruto could do was give a sheepish smile.

"I can explain..."

-3-

Just like the previous time he was caught, Naruto was not given a chance to explain. Instead, he found himself in the infirmary for the hundredth time, waiting for the nurse to enter and give him his "physical examination", even though Naruto told the guards that he was fine. But as usual, the guards never listen.

The door opened and a nurse stepped in. Every time Naruto got into a fight and had to go through "physical examination", he would get a different nurse each time. This was because when Naruto was eighteen, he was found being overly physical with his nurses. Technically, all Naruto ever did was flirt, something he tended to do ever since he read Kakashi-sensei's graphic adult novel. But things always escalated and he was even caught once, hence the frequent change of nurses. They tried sending older women or male nurses, but Naruto always managed to get them to leave one way or another. After all, there were many materials for Naruto to prank with in the infirmary.

This time, they had sent a timid nurse who looked at him with timid eyes, either because he was a criminal that had just beaten up five burly men or that he was warned to be the promiscuous patient that he was. "H-Hello, is this Naruto-san?"

"And what's your name? Or should I just call you "beautiful"?"

The nurse pushed up her glasses, attempting to hide the blush, but it didn't do much. "I-I'm not allowed to tell you my name a-according to my superiors. Y-You may call me Nurse-san."

"Okay then, Nurse-san. Let's get started." As Naruto removed his shirt, the timid nurse hid behind her clipboard.

"Y-You are not required to remove your shirt, N-Naruto-san."

"But it's too tiring to keep my shirt up. The other nurses said it was okay, so what's the problem?"

"Y-Yes, it is allowed." The nurse approached him with small steps, slowly reaching out to feel his abdomen. Her touch was light, probably still uncomfortable, but at the same time, half of her mind lost its focus. As if she suddenly remembered that she was a nurse, she removed her hands from his abdomen. "Were you in pain?"

"Not really, your hands felt really good, in fact." Naruto flashed a cheeky smile. The nurse adjusted her glasses again, but just like last time, her whole face was pink. "Next is the back area, am I correct?"

Before the nurse could react, Naruto grabbed the nurse's hands, wrapping them around him and pulling her close. Just by looking at the back of her neck, Naruto could see that her whole face must had turned red. "Naruto-san! We're not allowed to-"

"It's just physical examinations, right?"

Just as Naruto could feel the nurse caving in his arms, the door swung open loudly, making the nurse jumped out of his arms. He looked towards the door to see an unhappy prison warden. "Naruto Dreyar...Remind again why I allow any nurses below thirty be alone in a room with you?"

"Doranbolt-dono! T-This was not what it looks like! It was-"

"-physical examinations. You're supposed to touch your patient, am I right, Nurse-san?" The nurse only showed an uncomfortable face, but no one could blame her, since she was in an uncomfortable position.

"That is true, but once you stick your penis into my nurses, you're going too far."

"You're supposed to be the prison warden! How can you be so crude?"

Doranbolt burst a vein on his forehead, and Naruto knew that he had touched a sensitive spot. "I don't think I need to explain my crudeness to a man-slut like you. You're the reason I'm stuck as a prison warden! I want a promotion! I want to do fieldwork, not look after criminals like you!"

The angry warden grabbed Naruto by the hair, pulling him out of the door. "Wait, hold on! I'm not done with my physical examinations."

"I don't care! You there!" Pointing towards the nurse, Doranbolt ordered, "Just mark him as healthy."

Before the nurse could reply, Doranbalt dragged Naruto out of the room. She was probably going to ask him whether she should pass Naruto his shirt.

-3-

For the first time, Naruto found himself in a fancy room. There was carpet flooring, sculptures and even a tea set. Even the couch he was sitting on was comfortable. If not for the fact that Doranbalt was staring at him, making sure that Naruto did not do anything he considered out of line, Naruto felt pretty comfortable. "What are we doing here again?"

"You're meeting someone important, so mind your manners when she comes in later."

"She?" Naruto could feel something good coming up.

"Don't even think about it." Naruto pouted, looking around, wondering what it would feel like touching the sculptures, not that Doranbalt would allow him to. Twiddling his thumbs was all Naruto did for the next five minutes or so.

A click came from the door, and it opened to reveal a women dressed in a kimono and, to Naruto's delight, a generous serving of cleavage. Doranbalt put his palm on his face, and just to be safe, Naruto checked whether he was salivating.

It was not until Naruto saw the woman's face that he realized that this woman was someone he should not get involved with. Naruto had seen his fair share of scheming criminals, and the woman certainly had that look. A over-confident grin, as if something unpleasant was going according to plan. Despite this, Naruto learnt from experience to never expose such discoveries to others, but instead play along until you have a trump card.

As much as Naruto hated to, he put up his cheeky smile.

The woman sat across Naruto, and Doranbolt stood up to bow to her, which said something about her rank. "Your job is done here. Please, don't let me keep you from continuing your work."

"Yes, Ultear-dono." Before Doranbolt left, he gave Naruto a 'no-funny-business' look, but Naruto already understood that there was nothing funny about the situation.

"You must be Naruto. I've heard a lot about you." Ultear gave a sultry grin, but they both knew it was more of a grin of mischief. "I'm Ultear, one of the seats in the Magic Council. I'm new to this position, so maybe you have not heard of me."

"I have not, which is a big regret to me. I didn't know such a beautiful woman existed." Ultear was not at all affected by his sugared words, which by itself told Naruto a lot about Ultear.

"I heard that you were a charmer too. I was not disappointed." The woman poured some tea from the teapot into her teacup as she continued to speak. "I'm sure you're wondering why you're here."

Naruto did not have a clue, and so he kept mum, allowing Ultear to continue speaking. "I have a request only a man with your skills can complete, Naruto."

"I'm sorry, Ultear-san, but I'm not as promiscuous as everyone made me out to be."

Ultear gave a light giggle, and Naruto laughed along, starting to get worried about what he was getting himself into. "Don't worry, Naruto. The skills I was referring to was your skills in combat. You have defeated plenty of veteran criminals in combat, haven't you?"

"Only because we weren't allowed to use magic. It's nothing impressive, really."

"You are really modest, Naruto. And I like that about you. How bout' this? What if I told you that I can help you arrange for an early release?" Naruto's ears were instantly captivated by the words 'early release', and for a moment, he forgot what kind of person he was dealing with.

"It's very tempting indeed. What's the catch?"

"I heard you're somewhat of a vigilante...stabbing a corrupt aristocrat and standing up for fellow prisoners. The Magic Council could use someone like you." Now Naruto was hooked. This might just be his lucky break.

"So what will I do for the Magic Council?"

"You're interested, I see. Well, I guess there's no harm telling you the details." Ultear took a file from under the table, giving Naruto an excellent view for a moment. Ultear opened the file, flipping through the contents. "This is a classified assignment, Naruto. If you were to listen, you may not spread this information or you'd have to be silenced."

Naruto was fairly sure that he would not be silenced against his will, by friend or foe, but went along with it anyways. "I understand."

"That's good. Naruto, have you by any chance heard of...the Tower of Heaven?"

A recollection of Naruto's life seven years ago flashed in Naruto's mind. There was no way Naruto could ever forget that place. Remembering that he was in the presence of another person, he calmed his agitation by clenching his fists and taking steady breaths. "Yes...I have heard of that place. And what is has that got to do with the assignment?"

"It has everything to do with the assignment. After all, the aim of this initiative is to destroy it. The Council has looked in to this case for a while now-"

"I'll do it."

Ultear gave him a pleased grin, but Naruto was not bothered. A chance to take down the tower preceded all other priorities. Naruto would never forget how Kakashi-sensei had sacrificed himself, and how Sasuke and Sakura was murdered in front of him. If he had a chance to return and destroy the tower, Naruto would hold on to it tight. His promise to save the people slave-driven had not been forgotten yet.

"Decisive...I like that. How about we get into the details?" Naruto nodded, but once Ultear started talking, he lost his focus. All Naruto could think about was avenging his cellmates and the satisfaction that came along with it.

-3-

"That about summarizes your mission. There will have to be some administrative details to be sorted out, but most importantly, you'll be allowed to visit your guardian, Makarov Dreyar of Fairy Tail. From then on, be sure to focus solely on keeping an eye out for the target."

"Wait, I didn't catch that. 'Target'? What 'target'?" Ultear gave a light chuckle as she removed an envelope from her folder. He took the folder from her, his mind already wondering what it could be.

"Maybe a picture would help you. Open it." Naruto took out a picture from the envelope, his heart widened in utmost shock as he saw the picture. It took all of Naruto's mental strength not to drop the picture. "This woman is targeted by the Tower of Heaven for escaping. Your job is to constantly keep your eyes on her."

"At all costs, protect Erza Scarlet."

-3-

Ultear retreated into her quarters after a long conversation with the jinchuriki. It was odd that someone with such power would be so naïve, but at the same time, so perceptive. She knew that Naruto had sensed a bad vibe of her, something not too many people picked up on. Not that Ultear considered herself evil.

Despite Ultear's lethargy, she sat in her office and did the necessary paperwork needed for the jinchuriki's discharge. As expected, the Council had approved for Naruto's discharge due to the hassle of keeping Naruto in prison. Most of the seats' decisions were attributing it to the fact that he was Makarov's grandson, and though the Council would not admit it, they were afraid of Fairy Tail.

All Ultear did was use that hidden knowledge to her advantage. At the thought of the Magic Council being played by Ultear herself, she grinned from ear to ear.

The plan was simple enough. By baiting the jinchuriki to the Tower of Heaven, there was no work needed from her part. The only question was whether the jinchuriki could part with the demon. After all, it took plenty of trial and error to find a suitable host. What a coincidence that a demon would be compatible with a pure-hearted boy.

"But how do I extract the demon?" Ultear tapped her pen on her chin, thinking back and trying to figure out whether there was any leads, but nothing came to mind. She made a mental note to research it later.

As she signed the last of the paperwork, Ultear put her pen on her desk, reclining into her comfortable desk chair. For now, Ultear would rest as the final preparations were being made.

"Soon...It will all be over."


	6. Don't Go Breaking My Heart

It's time to gather around as Uncle .FLy tells you a story!

*camp fire crackles* Once upon a time, I received a letter telling me there was a problem with my student visa. I didn't have time to type. The end.

Back to the story. Once again, this is occurring during the **Loke's Arc**. **  
**

**Reminder: Still looking for interested beta readers.**

So sorry for not posting. Might not be able to post for the rest of this month but I'll try my best.

EDIT: Forgot to mention. Absence of fighting in this chapter will be compensated in the next few chapters. I'm thinking of crafting Naruto into a demented character, like I do with all my AU characters. Demented characters are much more interesting to read. He's not going to be with Erza for more than 3 chapters at a time. Iunno. Dancing Monkeys.

* * *

Disclaimer: Not my characters...

* * *

The loud horn sounded, signalling the ferry's arrival to the port of Magnolia. It was the second time Naruto sat aboard a ferry, the second time he heard the ferry's horn.

The second time he set foot into the city of Magnolia.

Naruto knew he was supposed to be excited, but the excitement drained away at the thought of Erza's reaction, only to be replaced with anxiety. There was a good chance that Erza might not even remember him, considering that the only communication with her was through letters. If Fairy Tail was what the rumors suggested about it, Erza was sure to make friends in no time. Considering that he only knew Erza for less than few months, he might have been a thing of the past to Erza.

But Naruto would never forget Erza. She was all he had.

As he stepped foot onto the port of Magnolia, Naruto could feel the restlessness that had brewed in him. Anxiety or excitement, Naruto needed to find his way to Fairy Tail. Even if Erza forgot about him, he needed to be there for her anyways.

He fished around his sack of belongings, pulling out an envelope which contained five thousand jewels. Apparently, he did not have to join the guild and will be supplied with money to follow and stay close to Erza, who was the target, but Naruto would join the guild nevertheless. Five thousand jewels a month would be sufficient to pay the rent of an apartment, so all money earned should be able to pay for his food.

Now all he need to do was find his way to Fairy Tail.

-3-

Unlike last time, Naruto had not thought of bringing a map. As he stepped into the shopping district, he was immediately distracted by the foods that was available. Only after eating his fill, Naruto found himself a thousand jewels poorer and lost.

He checked his envelope again, frowning at how much money he lost within hours. Now, it seems that five thousand jewels a month might not suffice for Naruto. This called for more planning.

Looking for a place to think, Naruto walked around with his hands in his pockets, eyes shifting left and right. But it was not his eyes that found him a place, but his nose. A piece of heaven is how he would describe the incredible smell. Just by taking one big whiff, he was intoxicated.

As he continued to take in the fragrance, Naruto's stomach rumbled. There was always room for ramen, he realized. His legs carried him to the source of the smell, weaving through the crowds, and Naruto found himself in front of restaurant. A restaurant named Ichiraku.

That old stall he had eaten at seven years ago was no more. A large building took its place, but the fragrance of their broth remained as heavenly as before. As he entered the restaurant, Naruto was taken aback by the crowd, but at the same time, it was to be expected. Sooner or later, someone would have recognized the brilliance of a bowl of Ichiraku ramen.

Naruto sat on a bar seat, trying not to drool on the counter. After attending another customer, the waitress came over to take his order, and Naruto recognized her as the waitress that served him seven years ago. Judging from the surprised look on the waitress' face, she must have remembered him too. "It's you!"

"It is. I'm surprised you remembered me after all these years."

"Why wouldn't I remember such a lovely woman, who brought me my first bowl of ramen?" Naruto gave an ear-to-ear smile, and the waitress laughed in response. "Could you bring me a bowl of ramen, miso broth and sliced pork?"

"Coming right up!" The waitress turned to get busy with the new orders, giving Naruto a good amount of time. He took out his envelope of money, recounting the notes just make sure. Only four thousand left. A sigh escaped his mouth, wondering whether life after prison was merely a repeat of life before prison. _Damn...I should get to Fairy Tail soon..._

"Here's your bowl of ramen." The heavenly cuisine was placed in front of him in a matter of seconds, shocking and delighting Naruto. Before Naruto feasted on the bowl, he looked at the bowl, remembering his financial state.

"How much-"

"It's on the house. Let this be my gift to welcome you back." It was odd that the waitress knew he left Magnolia, but Naruto thought nothing of it. As the waitress was about to resume her duties, an idea clicked in his head.

"Waitress!" Naruto waved his hand to get her attention successfully. "Do you know where Fairy Tail is?"

The waitress stifled a laugh. "I know a customer that does."

After the waitress gave her reply, she left him to his bowl of ramen, and Naruto was left to wonder what she meant. Was there someone in the restaurant from Fairy Tail? Guild members all had a tattoo of their guild's symbol, but none had of a fairy with a stinger. As he wolfed down the ramen, he surveyed the crowd once more.

That was when the entrance door opened. "Geez, I'm starving!"

A boy with pink hair stepped into the restaurant, and at the sight of him, people started to murmur. A blonde girl and a boy with raven hair walked in as well, acting as a rowdy bunch. Despite being a fun-seeker, Naruto envied these people. These people lived the way they wanted; eating with friends, hanging out with each other, taking jobs from Fairy Tail...

Taking jobs from Fairy Tail? As soon as Naruto noticed their glaring tattoos, he almost choked on his broth. Deciding not to let it go to waste, he chugged down the rest of his ramen. As the group sat down in a booth, Naruto stood up from his bar stool, pulling his hood up, tugging his hands in his coat. Weaving pass the queue line, he discreetly made his way to the booth. He did not want to scare off his potential guildmates after all.

Just when he was about to get their attention, he was knocked by someone..or something. Cold, hard steel clashed into him, knocking him slightly off his balance, but he managed to regain it. The "metal" that knocked into him, however, was less lucky. He looked down to see a girl...a woman, wearing a breastplate tarnished by ramen and a skirt.

More importantly, her hair was a beautiful, shining, crimson red. A red he recognized.

The woman brushed aside her hair, revealing her angry face to him. He'd seen that face before. When he left her years ago, she had that face. "Erza...It's me, Naruto-"

All he got in reply was a steel gauntlet to the face.

-3-

As soon as Naruto regained consciousness, he jolted up. He was pretty sure he had a nightmare, one that included Erza in armor punching him in the face, and hurting him a lot. But since when did he sleep? Despite not recalling actually finding an inn, Naruto was in a bed. The room he was in was huge, in fact. Definitely not an inn's room.

Upon looking by his bedside, he saw Erza sitting the by the right of his bed, her head resting by him. Erza in the flesh.

As he tried to lift his hand to make sure it was not his eyes playing tricks, he realized that it was chained to the side of the bed. The clank of the chains was enough to jolt Erza awake. It only took a thought from her to materialize a sword out of nowhere, pointing it straight at him apprehensively.

"Whoa, Erza! What are you doing? That's dangerous!"

"Y-You're supposed to serving time in prison. I don't need to concern myself criminals like you!" Erza looked away, her rosy cheeks displaying her petty anger.

"I was released early upon...good conduct." Erza did not even grace him with a reply, looking away with puffed cheeks of displeasure. This was when Naruto understood what this was about. "Are you still angry that I left without saying anything?"

No reply was given, although her anger melted into melancholy. "I'm sorry, Erza. I swear that I'll make it up to you. Even if you don't want to see me ever again, I...I..."

Who was Naruto kidding; he could not leave Erza even if he tried.

A click alerted him the entrance of someone else. Makarov, the man he had been dying to see appeared. "Jii-san!"

The petite man gave him his biggest grin, and Naruto replied with a grin just as wide. Naruto opened his free arm wide to invite Makarov for a hug, which he accepted. The mere intimacy between someone he knew made his eyes watery. "It's been way too long, Jii-san..."

Before he said anything, Makarov freed his hand with a key. "Sorry about that, Naruto. We had to make sure you were officially discharged."

"I understand." Naruto gave a side glance towards Erza and her floating sword, Makarov tracing the gaze as well.

"Is there a misunderstanding between you two?"

"Yes."

"No."

Makarov gave the two of them a look of suspicious glance, jumping off Naruto's bed. "The two of you are free to spent the evening however you like. I don't like it when my children fight, and I wish the two of you can work out your differences by morning."

Just before Makarov exited the room, he glanced back and gave Naruto a look of encouragement. "Try to talk nicely, kids."

As Makarov left, the tension returned. Naruto got of his bed and took steps towards Erza, who backed away each step he took. "So...is this the guild?"

"This is my room in the female dormitories. The guild hall is...under renovation." Erza shifted her gaze further from his, her anger not appeased the slightest. The mood had gotten really awkward, and Naruto did not know how to lift the awkwardness, nor how to appease her. Erza was not affected by his honey-coated wards, nor did she talk very much. As a desperate solution, Naruto mustered his words.

"How about we grab a bite, Erza?"

-3-

"Welcome!" The same waitress greeted us from behind her counter. The crowd was significantly reduced during this time of day, making business slow enough for the waitress to greet them. "I see you two have reconciled?"

Erza merely crossed her arms, staring somewhere in the distance away from him. Rubbing his head meekly, Naruto replied, "Sort of."

After ordering two bowls of ramen, Naruto led Erza to a table for two, where they sat. From his old cellmate Shikamaru, he had learnt that appeasing a women was the most "troublesome" chore in the world, and it proved true. Erza would not even look him in the face, much less talk to him.

"You must have yet to take dinner! Sorry for keeping you hungry!" Naruto chuckled nervously, trying to lighten the mood.

"I-I wasn't hungry." A timely growl came from Erza's stomach, and it took much of Naruto's self-control not to laugh. "G-Gastric pains."

The sole waitress of the restaurant brought them their bowls of ramen in almost no time, along with a ceramic flask. "We didn't order that, Waitress-san."

"This sa-ke is on the house." The waitress smiled towards Ezra, who nodded back just as wordlessly. "Enjoy your meal."

When the waitress left, Naruto felt the tension return. He felt like he was about to fumble on his words anytime. He didn't speak the same way towards her, choosing his words carefully. He kept thinking that Erza was someone he could be at ease with, but why was he so nervous?

"D-Do you come here often? You seemed to be friendly with the waitress."

"Occasionally."

One-word responses will not getting him anywhere. "So...how has it been? I heard a lot about you from in prison. Some of the people there were even apprehended by you!" Once again, Naruto attempted to chuckle lightheartedly, but the way his voice shook gave away his anxiety. As a desperate attempt to retain composure, he took the flask of sa-ke and downed it in one go. The immense burn in his throat was followed by a soothing aftertaste, miraculously reducing his heart rate.

Erza watched in slight worry, but kept her arms folded. "You drank the sa-ke that was meant for the both of us."

"I'm...uh...sorry." Naruto shook his head in an attempt to clear his spinning headache. Maybe Naruto should have inquired about the alcohol content of sa-ke before drinking it. "Woah...this is strong...So, Erza...Let's talk...about..."

The room started to spin, or rather Naruto's head started to spin. It became a struggle to even sit up straight, much less continue talking. "Damn...I didn't get to savour my ramen again."

Losing his balance, he landed on the floor limply, not bothering with even attempting to get back up. The weight of his eyelids set in, and all he saw was a blur of red before the black curtained his vision.

-3-

After a long battle with unconsciousness for the second time, he found himself moving as he awoke. An effort was required to push open his eyelids. Only then did he realize that he was on Erza's back. It was warm, probably because Erza had no armor on. He preferred it that way. "Erza..."

The sound of his own voice made his head hurt and wince in pain. "You...woke up."

Just as he was about to continue speaking, he noticed that the nape of Erza's neck was almost as red as her hair. Her hair too had the smell of alcohol. "You drank sa-ke too, didn't you? Who'd thought you'd be a drinker?"

Naruto's laugh came out wiry, and made his head feel like a boulder. "You're an idiot, Naruto."

"Yeah, I know, right? I don't even know that was alco-"

"I'm not talking about that." The tone of Erza's voice made Naruto's heart fall. "You left without saying a word...You left me to fend for myself...Why did you even bother coming back?"

"Erza-"

"I thought I could wait for you...ten years didn't seem very long at first. But everyday of that ten years I have been crying. Everyday of that ten years I came back to the same ramen restaurant...You never came back."

"Do you hate me, Erza?"

Erza paused, tears flowing down her cheeks. "I wish I could. You're the biggest idiot I know, even if I'm in Fairy Tail..."

"I know. I hate me too..."

"But somehow I love you even more."

The words pounded on Naruto's chest. He did not know what t feel. To know that Erza had thought of him all this time, he had no idea whether to be glad or guilty.

"How can I make it up to you?"

She stopped walking. "Never leave me again. Please, Naruto."

As much as his head hurt, Naruto got off Erza, trying to balance himself on his own two feet. With a bit of an effort, he walked in front of Erza, kneeling down with his back facing her. "Get on, Erza."

"You don't have to do this. I can still-"

"Don't be stubborn, Erza." Reluctantly, Erza saddled up onto his back. With legs like jello, he stood up, walking down the street one wobbly step at a time. "You could have told me how you felt earlier. You're just as stubborn as when you were young. Maybe one day you'll be able to tell me you love me while sober."

As he smiled to himself, Naruto felt Erza's silky smooth hair rest on his shoulder. "Most likely not."

This time, Naruto laughed, as he was truly and genuinely happy.

-3-

Ultear sat on her reclining chair, twirling a glass of wine in her hand as she read her documents. She was enthralled by this subject of hers. Out of the countless that had died while trying to contain the demon, the one that was able to subdue it was a cheerful boy. She always thought that it was the most ruthless of people who could have subdued this demon. Furthermore, this boy could control it to his advantage.

As she grinned mindlessly to herself, she was pulled out of thought by tug on her gown. "Ultear."

At the sight of that cute face, she lifted her surrogate daughter to sit on her lap, putting the document on the side table. "Can't sleep, Meredy."

The girl nodded her head, and her adorable motions beckoned Ultear's motherly instincts. She pulled Meredy into a cradle, along Meredy to use her bust as a pillow. "Me neither. I'm thinking about a very puzzling man."

"Was it the whiskered man?"

"Yes. Did you see his picture?" She nodded. "What did you think of him?"

"He looks cute. Like a cat." Ultear could only chuckle at her daughter's adorable antics.

"Other than his whiskers?"

"He looks happy. His smile makes me feel happy too."

Ultear smiled for several seconds before an idea popped in her head. A very good one. "Meredy, why don't you go get some cookies from the kitchen? You can have anything you want in there."

Her daughter scurried to the kitchen, and when she was out of sight, Ultear signaled for one of her attendants. Picking up her documents, she felt a devilish grin creep up onto her face. "Get me the body bags."

"Which ones do you require, Ma'am?"

"Subjects double-zero five, six and seven. Hatake Kakashi, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha."


End file.
